AND 


PRODUCER  GAS 


PHILADELPHIA 


INDUS'! 


OF 


'iiv. 


MOND  GAS  WITH  BY-PRODUCT 


\ 

'  ■  1 


*  * 


>  *  » 


LIBRARY 

OF  tHF 

UNIV^Hb!  ot  ILLINOIS 


V  . 


** , 


400  H.  P.  GAS  PRODUCER  POWER  PLANT 


Gas  Producers 

AND 

The  bildt  Automatic  Feed  Device 

PATENTED 


SOLE  MAKERS 

R.  D.  WOOD  &  CO. 

Engineers,  Iron  Founders,  Machinists 

PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 


Gas  Fuel 

AND  THE 

APPLICATION  OF  PRODUCER  GAS 

TO 

MANUFACTURING  PURPOSES 


J903 


Copyright,  1903,  by  R.  D.  Wood  &  Co. 


2-1903-2500. 


R .  D.  Wood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia 


5 


UNIVERSAL  HYDRAULIC  BEAM  SHEAR— TURRET  TYPE. 


p  1298 


6 


R.  D.  IVood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


A  260,000  GALLON  TANK  ON  TOWER  100  FEET  HIGH  DESIGNED  AND  BUILT 
FOR  THE  JACKSONVILLE  WATER  WORKS,  JACKSONVILLE,  FLA. 


R.  D.  Wood  <S r  Co.,  Philadelphia 


7 


1300  HORSE  POWER  HORIZONTAL  TURBINE  DESIGNED  AND  BUILT  FOR  THE 
NIAGARA  FALLS  HYDRAULIC  POWER  AND  MANUFACTURING  CO. 


8 


R.  D.  IVood  &* 


Co.,  Philadelphia. 


HYDRAULIC  FIXED  RIVETER 


R.  D.  Wood  &  Co Philadelphia 


9 


TRIPLE  EXPANSION  CONDENSING  PUMPING  ENGINES. 

Made  in  units  ranging  in  size  from  1,000,000  gallons  per  24  hours  against  400  feet  and 
upward,  to  50,000,000  gallons  against  30  feet  and  upward. 


R.  D.  Wood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


Centrifugal 
Pumping  Machinery* 


BELT-DRIVEN 

OR 

DIRECT  CONNECTED 
WITH 


GAS,  STEAM  OR  ELECTRIC  POWER. 


R.  D.  IVood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


1 1 


FOR 

IRRIGATION,  DRY  DOCK,  FILTRATION, 
SEWAGE,  OILS,  LIQUORS, 
CIRCULATING,  COFFERDAM,  DREDGING, 
WRECKING,  BILGE,  DRAINAGE, 
HOUSE,  MUNICIPAL,  FACTORY, 
MILL,  BREWERY,  SUGAR  HOUSE, 
ENGINE  ROOM,  CONTRACTORS,  MARINE, 
RIVER,  PLACER  MINING,  MINE  SINKING, 

AND  KINDRED  USES* 


mmd 


R.  D.  Wood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


LIGHTENING-HOLE  PUNCH. 


R.  D.  Wood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


13 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE. 

Absolute  Temperature . 97,  101 

Advantages  of  Gas  Producer...  44 

Air,  Composition  of .  56 

“  for  Combustion . 20,  56,  100 


Analyses: 

Gas  from  Anthracite, 

38,  49,  61,  63,  66,  67 
“  “  Bituminous, 

38,  49,  63,  64,  66,  77 

“  “  Lignite  .  25 

“  “  Tan  Bark  .  26 

“  Natural,  Coal  and  Water  77 
Anthracite  Coal  in  Producer...  52 

“  “  Sizes .  53 

Gas  and  Energy 

from  . 60-63 

Application  of  Producer  Gas, 

26,  27,  68 


Bildt  Continuous  Automatic 

Feed  . 35-39 

Bituminous  Coal  in  Producer..  52 
Bituminous  Gas  and  Energy 

from . 63-66 

Boiler  Firing  with  Producer 

Gas . 73-77 

Calorific  Power  .  ..56,  98,  99,  100,  101 
Capacity  of  Producers, 

Gas  Yield  per  Ton  of  Coal 

Gasified . 26,  49,  50 

Caution  to  Public .  15 

Cement  Burning .  73 

Chemical  Nomenclature .  98 

Clues  to  Producer  Operation...  24 

Combustion,  Products  of .  19 

Comparative  Value  of  Fuels....  53 
Cubic  Feet  per  Pound  of  Gas. . .  57 

Diameter  of  Pipes,  Formula....  101 
Directions  for  Operating  Pro¬ 
ducer  . 93-96 

Dulong’s  Formula .  .  99 

Economical  Heating .  68 

Efficiency  of  Gas  Producer 

Power  Plants  .  80 


PAGE. 

Energy  Lost  in  Producers .  19 

Essentials  of  a  Gas  Producer, 

17,  28-31 

Excess  Steam  in  Air  Supply. ...  23 

Four  Hundred  H.  P.  Plant .  84 

Fuel  Energetics  .  58 

Fuel  Oil . 67,  102 

Fuel,  Producer . 24,  25,  50 

Fuel  Utilization  and  Gas  Fur¬ 
naces  .  68 

Forge  Work  .  73 

Function  of  a  Gas  Producer....  19 

Gas  Engine  .  79 

Gas  Firing,  Excels  Direct . 20,21 

Gas  Fired  Lime  Kiln . 70-72 

Forges .  73 

“  Ore  Roasters  .  73 

Gaseous  Fuel  .  19 

Gas  Fuel  and  Producer  Gas....  55 

Gas  Furnaces .  68 

Gas  Producer  Described . 27,34 

Gas  Producer  Power  Plants. .  .79-93 
Generation  of  Producer  Gas... 21-23 
Heats  of  Combustion. .  .56,  98,  99,  100 

Heat  Units  .  . .  .* . 57,  98 

Heat  Value  of  Various  Sub¬ 
stances  . 56,  98,  99,  101 

Introduction  .  16 

Installing  Gas  Producers  and 

Piping  the  Gas . 47-49 

Latent  Heat .  58 

Leveling  of  Fuel  Bed .  34 

Lignites  in  Gas  Producer .  25 

Lime  Kiln,  Gas  Fired . 71 ,72 

Loss  of  Energy  in  Producers. . .  19 

Mahler’s  Formula .  99 

Mains,  Valves  and  Fittings - 45-49 

Melting  Points . 97,  98 

Mond  Gas  with  By-Product  Re¬ 
covery  . 9°-93 

Natural  Gas  and  Coal  Compared,  102 

Operating  Gas  Producers . 93-96 

Ore  Roasting  .  72 


14 


R.  D.  Wood  Sr  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


PAGE. 

Piping  Producer  Gas .  47 

Power  Plants,  Producer  Gas... 79-93 

Producer  Connections . 45-49 

Producer  and  Illuminating  Gas 

Compared  .  96 

Producer  Gas,  Generation  of. ..21-23 
“  “  Sensible  Heat.. 23,  24 

“  “  Temperatures  of  24 

“  Fuel . 24,25,50 

Sizes  and  Modifica¬ 
tions  . 42-45 

Products  of  Combustion.  19,  99,  100 
“  “  “  per  cu.  ft.  100 

Quality  and  Energy  of  Producer 


Gas  . 21-26 

Regeneration  .  69 

Sensible  Heat . 23,  58 

Sizes  Anthracite  Coal  .  53 

Softening  of  Clinker  .  32 

Specific  Heats . 57,  100,  101 

Specific  Gravity  of  Gases .  101 

Standard  Sizes  of  Producers...  45 

Steam  with  Air  Supply . 23,  58-60 

Tan  Bark  in  Producer .  25 

Temperatures . 24,97,98 

Value  of  Steam  in  Producers, 

23,  58-60 

Valves  and  Fittings . 46-49 

Volume  and  Temperature .  99 

Volume  of  Gases  per  pound .  101 

Volumetric  Specific  Pleat .  101 

What  Constitutes  a  Good  Gas 
Producer  . 28-31 


PAGE. 

Water  Gas  . 66,67 

Water-Jacketed  Producer . 34,  40 


Water-Sealed  Gas  Producer....  42 
Weight  of  Gases  per  cubic  foot,  99,  100 
Weight  per  Cubic  Foot  of  Coal 

and  Coke  .  96 

Wood,  weight,  and  value  of  in 

coal .  102 

Yield  of  Gas  from  Various 
Fuels  . 26,  49,  50 

Illustrations: 

A  400  H.  P.  Engine  Gas  Plant, 

Frontispiece  and  page  83 
Bildt  Feed,  Sectional  Elevation  36 
“  Line  of  Distribution  37 
Gas  Producer  Power  Plant, 


Earlier  Design  .  78 

Standard  Gas  Producer  Power 

Plant . 81 

Lime  Kiln,  Gas  Fired .  70 

Producers: 

Battery  of  Six .  54 

Brick-Lined,  Bildt  Feed .  30 

Brick-Lined,  Hopper  Feed...  18 

Cone  Bottom .  43 

Half  Water  Jacket,  Hopper 

Feed  .  33 

Part  of  Battery  of  Fourteen, 

45,  48,  51 

Valves  and  Main  Fittings . 46-49 

Water  Sealed  Producer .  41 


R.  D.  hVood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


15 


CAUTION  TO  THE  PUBLIC 

AGAINST  INFRINGEMENT  OF  THE 
TAYLOR  PATENTS  FOR 

GAS  PRODUCERS. 

THE  public  is  hereby  notified  that  the  T aylor  System 
of  making  gas  is  covered  by  a  series  of  United 
States  Patents,  and  among  them  is  one  No*  399,798, 
dated  March  J9th,  1889,  which  covers  broadly,  in  the 
method  of  making  gas,  the  placing  and  maintaining  of  a 
deep  bed  of  ash  under  a  bed  of  incandescent  fuel  and 
blasting  through  the  ash  and  fuel*  The  said  patent  covers 
broadly  the  practical  method  of  making  producer  gas  on  a 
deep  bed  of  ash*  All  infringers  of  the  said  method  patent 
for'the  making  of  producer  gas  will  be  rigorously  prosecuted 
according  to  law,  by  the 


Taylor  Gas  Producer  Company, 

Camden,  N*  J. 

[Inserted  by  request  of  the  Taylor  Gas  Producer  Company.] 


R.  D.  WOOD  &  CO., 

400  Chestnut  Street, 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Sole  Licensees. 


Cable  Address:  TUCKAHOE,  PHILADELPHIA. 

CODES— A,  B,  C  Code,  Fourth  Edition. 

,Lieber’s  Code,  1896. 

Premier  Code. 

A-l  Code. 

Watkin’s  Code. 

Postal  Directory  Code. 

Manufacturers’  Export  Code — Seeger’s. 
Western  Union  Telegraph  Code. 


i6 


R.  D.  IVood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


INTRODUCTION. 


THE  necessity  for  this  fifth  edition  of  the  Gas  Pamphlet  is 
but  an  incident  in  the  many  evidences  of  the  active  and 
sustained  interest  of  engineers  and  industrial  management  in  the 
applications  of  producer  gas.  Its  application  to  power  generation  or 
to  metallurgical  uses  has  demonstrated  both  its  superior  economy 
and  supplementary  advantages  over  other  methods.  Our  recent 
introduction  of  the  “MOND  Gas”  process  with  By-Product 
Recovery,  using  bituminous  coals,  has  further  broadened  and 
strengthened  its  utility. 

The  construction  of  larger  and  reliable  gas  engine  units  is  an 
important  factor  in  this  development  and  has  brought  it  into  strong 
and  successful  competition  with  the  steam  engine  for  both  isolated 
and  central  power  stations. 

In  these  different  applications  much  of  the  matter  presented 
is  based  upon  actual  experience  in  the  installation,  starting  and 
operating  of  Gas  Producers  under  the  varying  conditions  of  an 
extensive  service  in  the  United  States  and  foreign  countries.  The 
Bildt  Continuous  Automatic  Feed  has  new  and  valuable  features, 
while  our  recently  patented  Hollow  Bosh  Water  Seal  Producer  will 
interest  those  desiring  such  type  of  seal. 

Through  the  courtesy  of  Mr.  W.  J.  Taylor,  we  continue  to 
include  the  extract  from  his  paper  on  “The  Energy  of  Fuel ;  Solid, 
Liquid  and  Gaseous.” 

We  are  gratified  by  the  many  expressions  of  appreciation  of 
this  pamphlet  from  our  correspondents,  and  trust  that  the  value 
and  helpful  character  they  indicate  may  be  increased  by  the 
additions  made  to  it  from  time  to  time. 

R.  D.  WOOD  &  CO. 


Philadelphia,  February,  1903. 


R.  D.  IVood  Sr  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


1 7 


'Y'HE  essential  requirements  of 
are  that  it  shall  insure — 


a  Gas  Producer 


ist. — Complete  Combustion 

of  the  Carbon. 

2d. — Gas  of  Uniform  Quality. 
3d. — Ease  in  Operating. 

4th. — Continuous  Operation. 


Note — for  EVERY  ONE  PER  CENT,  of  economy  in  con= 
sumption  of  coal  at  $1.00  per  ton,  a  manufacturer  can  afford  to 
spend  $250.00  ;  at  $2.00  per  ton,  $500.00,  or,  at  $3.00  per  ton,  $750.00 
PER  PRODUCER,  gasifying  five  tons  per  day. 


i8 


R.  D.  IVood  & 


Co.,  Philadelphia. 


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GAS  PRODUCER  WITH  REVOLVING  BOTTOM, 

STYLE  HOPPER  FEED. 


SHOWING  OLD- 


R.  D.  Wood  £r  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


19 


GASEOUS  FUEL* 


Conversion  into  gas  is  the  primary  requisite  for  the  utiliza¬ 
tion  of  other  forms  of  fuel.  Whether  the  gases  of  this  conversion 
are  combustible  or  not  depends  upon  the  nature  of  the  fuel  and  the 
method  of  gasification. 

The  combustible  elements  of  all  ordinary  fuels  are  chiefly 
Carbon  (C)  and  Hydrogen  (H)  in  great  variety  of  chemical  com¬ 
bination  and  physical  characteristics.  In  all  cases,  however,  the 
products  of  their  complete  combustion  contain  only  Carbonic  Acid 
(C02)  and  Water  (H20),  with  the  Nitrogen  (N)  and  probably 
some  Oxygen  (O)  of  the  air  supply.  With  incomplete  combustion 
they  will  contain  in  addition  varying  amounts  of  the  gaseous  Car¬ 
bon  Monoxide  (CO),  Hydrocarbons  (CxHy),  Hydrogen  and  pos¬ 
sibly  tar  and  smoke  as  products  of  distillation,  all  having  a  heat 
value. 

In  ordinary  grate  or  “direct  firing”  the  object  is  to  effect 
complete  combustion  in  proximity  to  the  fuel  bed.  Within  the 
same  chamber  the  fuel  elements  are  vaporized,  distilled,  gasified 
and  completely  burned.  The  first  two  processes  absorb  heat  only 
and  there  are  advantages  in  separating  them  from  the  point  where 
combustion  of  the  gases  occurs  and  where  high  temperatures  are 
developed  by  the  heat  evolved. 

The  gas  producer  or  generator  accomplishes  this.  Within  it 
vaporization,  distillation  and  gasification  result  in  a  combustible 
gas,  which  led  away  to  a  separate  combustion  chamber,  is  there 
burned  under  conditions  favoring  a  fuller  realization  of  the  fuel 
value  and  the  attainment  of  temperatures  otherwise  impossible. 

The  use  of  the  gas  producer  does  not  produce  a  greater  amount 
of  heat  than  direct  firing.  Even  with  a  close  connection  of 
producer  to  the  furnace,  and  consequent  utilization  of  the  sen¬ 
sible  heat  of  the  gas,  there  is  a  loss  of  energy,  but  it  should  not 
exceed  15  to  20  per  cent,  of  the  calorific  value  of  the  fuel. 

Notwithstanding  this  loss,  experience  has  amply  demon¬ 
strated  that  in  the  majority  of  applications  producer  gas  accom¬ 
plishes  the  same  result  with  less  fuel,  and  has  made  possible 
metallurgical  operations  which  were  impracticable  with  direct 
firing. 


20 


R.  D.  Wood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


Reasons  Why  Gas  Firing  Excels  Direct, — These  are 
numerous  and  their  thorough  appreciation  dependent  upon  a 
clear  conception  of  the  principles  of  combustion.  In  part  they 
are : 

First. — More  complete  combustion  is  secured. 

Second. — Higher  temperatures  of  combustion  are'possible. 

Third. — There  is  less  loss  of  heat  through  the  waste  products 
of  combustion. 

Fourth. — Greater  efficiency  in  transfer  of  heat. 

Fifth. — Heat  may  be  recovered  from  hot  waste  gases  and  re¬ 
turned  to  the  combustion  chamber  in  preheated  air. 

Sixth.- — Gas  and  air  supply,  and  therefore  combustion,  are  in 
easy  and  complete  control. 

Seventh. — Avoids  loss  through  grates  and  transport  of  coal; 
concentrates  and  minimizes  labor  in  handling  coal  and  ash;  elim¬ 
inates  deleterious  effect  of  ash  or  extraneous  matter  on  the  sub¬ 
stances  subjected  to  heat,  and  the  irregularities  of  charging  in 
direct  firing. 

These  advantages  are  largely  mutually  dependent  and  rest 
upon  the  same  cause. 

For  combustion  a  theoretical  amount  of  air  is  necessary  and 
which  in  practice  is  exceeded.  Direct  firing  requires  at  least 
double  this  theoretical  amount  and  often  much  more  to  even 
approach  complete  combustion.  This  defect  is  further  marked 
in  the  use  of  soft  coals.  As  combustion  progresses  the  bed  be¬ 
comes  more  compact,  and  as  the  time  for  a  new  charge  ap¬ 
proaches  is  less  permeable.  Obviously,  with  a  given  draught,  the 
amount  of  air  penetrating  decreases  with  an  increased  depth  and 
compactness  of  the  fuel.  A  fresh  charge  of  coal  requires  a 
greater  amount  of  air  to  consume  its  volatile  matters,  and  needs 
it  at  a  time  when  its  passage  is  most  retarded  and  combustion 
further  impaired  by  the  reduction  of  temperature  accompanying 
volatilization.  With  an  air  requirement  therefore  irregular,  the 
grates  must  be  arranged  to  admit  this  greater  excess  of  air  at  all 
times  less  larger  loss  ensue  from  escape  of  unburnt  gases. 

In  gas  firing  the  air  supply  may  closely  approximate  that 
theoretically  necessary  and  is  always  under  control.  Combustion 
is  more  complete,  therefore,  because  this  less  excess  of  air  reduces 
the  amount  of  the  products  of  combustion.  The  heat  evolved  is 
concentrated  in  a  smaller  volume,  thus  raising  the  temperature  of 


R.  D.  kVood  &  Co .,  Philadelphia. 


21 


combustion,  which  in  turn  facilitates  union  of  the  oxygen  of  the 
air  with  the  constituents  of  the  gas.  Moreover,  the  less  air  means 
less  dilution  of  the  gaseous  mixture  by  inert  nitrogen  and  vapors 
which  retard  combustion,  while  the  possible  intimate  mixture  of 
gas  and  air  promotes  their  contact  and  combination. 

The  burnt  gases  being  of  higher  temperature  transfer  their 
heat  more  readily,  and  because  of  reduced  quantity  carry  less  to 
the  chimney.  But  on  their  way  they  may  be  intercepted  and 
compelled  to  impart  a  large  measure  of  their  heat  to  the  air  going 
to  the  combustion  chamber,  an  expedient  which  experience  has 
shown  of  small  value  in  direct  firing.  By  this  recuperation  and 
return  of  heat  to  the  system,  there  is  an  additional  saving  in  fuel 
equivalent  to  the  heat  so  returned,  with  the  attendant  advantage 
of  still  further  promoting  combustion,  increase  of  temperatures 
and  reduction  of  loss  in  waste  gases. 


Generation  of  Producer  Gas* — This,  as  stated,  is  the  pro¬ 
duct  of  an  incomplete  combustion  in  the  generator. 

The  oxygen  of  the  air  entering  the  producer  and  coming  in 
contact  with  the  incandescent  carbon  of  the  fuel,  forms  a  cer¬ 
tain  amount  of  gaseous  incombustible  carbonic  acid  (C02).  The 
heat  generated  by  this  reaction  is  taken  up  by  the  C02  and  the 
nitrogen  of  the  air  supplied.  These  ascending  gases  yield  their 
heat  to  the  fuel  above,  bringing  it  to  incandescence.  But  in  contact 
with  this  glowing  carbon  the  C02  first  formed  takes  up  another 
portion  of  carbon,  and  is  thus  converted  into  combustible  carbon 
monoxide  (CO),  chemically  indicated  thus: 

C02  +  C  +  heat  =  2  CO. 


In  absence  of  impurities  in  the  fuel  and  with  dry  air,  the 
gas  contains  all  the  nitrogen  of  the  air  and  approximates 


Carbon  monoxide  (CO)  .  .  .  34.7  per  cent. 
Nitrogen  (NO).  .  .  65.3  per  cent. 


|  by  volume, 


and  has  a  heating  value  of  about  118  British  thermal  units  per 
cubic  foot. 

In  practice,  with  carbonized  fuel  and  an  air  blast,  it  contains 
always  some  C02  and  a  little  H  with  the  N  of  the  air.  The  H 
arises  either  from  the  fuel  or  decomposition  of  the  moisture  in  the 
air  supplied  upon  its  contact  with  the  glowing  carbon  thus : 

H20  -j-  C  -(-  heat  =  H2  T  CO. 


22 


R.  D.  Wood  &  Co Philadelphia . 


With  uncarbonized  fuels,  as  soft  coals,  the  products  of  dis¬ 
tillation  of  the  raw  fuel  in  the  upper  zone  are  mixed  with  those 
of  the  gasification  below.  They  consist  chiefly  of  H,  and  the 
hydrocarbons  Marsh  Gas  (CH4)  and  Olefiant  Gas  (C2H4). 

Conditions  Affecting  Quality  of  Gas* — Obviously,  as 
large  a  proportion  as  possible  of  the  C02  first  formed  should  be 
converted  into  CO  to  raise  the  percentage  of  combustibles. 

This  is  accomplished  the  more  quickly  and  thoroughly  the 
higher  the  temperature*  of  the  producer,  and  the  greater  the 
surfaces  of  fuel  exposed  to  contact  of  ascending  gases.  The  for¬ 
mation  of  CO  is  promoted  the  more  porous  the  fuel,  the  greater 
its  depth  and  the  finer  divided,  to  a  point  where  excessive  re¬ 
sistance  arises  to  passage  of  the  air  or  gases.  Large  lump  fuels 
which  retain  their  form  in  combustion  require,  therefore,  greater 
depth.  A  slower  velocity  (weaker  draught  or  blast)  of  the  gase¬ 
ous  current  through  the  fuel  bed  acts  similarly  by  prolonging 
contact. 

Nevertheless,  it  is  impossible  to  remove  all  the  C02.  Within 
the  range  of  temperatures  with  which  we  are  dealing,  the  reduc¬ 
tion  of  C02  to  CO  proceeds  to  a  certain  ratio  for  the  temperature, 
when,  were  other  causes  absent,  action  ceases  by  dilution. 

The  temperature  of  the  producer  has  also  an  important  bear¬ 
ing  upon  the  volatile  matters  given  to  the  gas  when  uncarbonized 
fuels  are  used.  Higher  temperature  increases  the  percentage 
of  combustible,  especially  CO,  in  the  gas,  and  while  less  gas  is 
produced  per  unit  of  carbon,  it  carries  a  greater  per  cent,  of  the 
heat  energy  of  the  coal.  The  amount  of  condensible  products, 
as  water  and  tar,  is  reduced,  the  tendency  being  more  to  the  for¬ 
mation  of  soot  or  pitch.  An  analysis  by  Stockman,  illustrating 
hot  and  cold  working  on  the  same  fuel,  shows  a  decrease  of  12 
per  cent,  in  volume  of  gases,  with  a  gain  of  20  per  cent,  in  their 
heating  value,  which,  of  course,  makes  possible  higher  tempera¬ 
tures  of  combustion  in  the  furnace. 

Other  things  equal,  the  temperature  of  the  producer  will 
increase  with  the  amount  of  fuel  gasified  in  unit  of  time,  and 
this  is  primarily  dependent  upon  the  air  supply.  But  increased 
air  supply  means  more  rapid  combustion,  greater  velocity  of 
gaseous  current  through  the  bed,  less  duration  of  its  contact 


*Air  over  incandescent  C  gives  minimum  C02  at  about  1900°  F. 


R.  D.  Wood  &  Co. ,  Philadelphia. 


23 


with  the  fuel  and, 'therefore,  indicates  greater  area  (depth)  of 
contact  if  quality  of  gas  is  to  be  maintained  with  C02  low. 

Wet  coals,  by  great  loss  of  heat  through  high  latent  and 
specific  heats  of  vaporization  of  water,  retard  hot  working  and, 
of  course,  for  analogous  reasons,  carbonized  work  hotter  than 
uncarbonized  fuels. 

Steam  with  Air  Supply* — The  jet  blower  is  simple,  com¬ 
pact  and  cheap,  but  it  requires  intelligent  use.  Its  advantages 
are  greater  when  the  gas  is  much  cooled  before  use ;  less  with  a 
close  connection  of  producer  and  furnace,  and  with  soft  coals  than 
with  carbonized  fuels.  The  use  of  steam  (see  also  pp.  58  to  60) 
increases  the  combustibles  by  adding  H  to  the  gas,  reduces  the 
inert  N,  raises  calorific  power,  lowers  exit  temperature  of  gases 
and  retards  clinkering.  It  does  not  produce  more  heat,  simply 
transfers  it  from  the  generator  to  the  furnace  by  the  potential 
heat  value  of  the  H  instead  of  the  less  efficient  means  of  greater 
sensible  heat  in  the  gas. 

Too  much  steam,  however,  reduces  the  combustible  in  the  gas 
and  lowers  calorific  power,  reducing  the  amount  of  CO  and  in¬ 
creasing  C02  and  H.  Jenkin  reports  analyses  as  follows: 


Volume  <fo. 

Excess  of  Steam. 

Moderate. 

Great. 

CO, 

5-30 

8.90 

CO 

23-50 

16.40 

cu4 

3-3° 

2-55 

!  I 

1 3- 1 4 

18.60 

In  gasification  of  coke  there  is  often  strong  tendency  to  clinker, 
and  use  of  more  steam  may  commend  itself. 

Sensible  Heat  of  Producer  Gas* — This  is  of  importance 

because  12  to  18  per  cent,  of  the  heat  value  of  the  coal  may  exist 
in  this  form,  the  loss  of  which  is  only  a  question  of  cooling  the 
gas.  It  is  utilized  only  when  gases  reach  the  furnace  hot,  and 
the  hotter  the  gases  leave  the  producer,  the  greater  may  be  this 
loss. 

Hotter  gases  result  from  carbonized  and  dry  fuels,  rapid 
driving  and  dry-air  blast  than  from  uncarbonized  and  wet  fuels 
or  steam-air  blast. 


24 


R.  D.  Wood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


Temperatures  of  escaping  gases,  of  course*  vary  considerably, 
depending  upon  character  of  fuel  and  rapidity  of  driving. 

With  coke,  say  between  900°  and  1800°  F. 

Soft  coals,  say  between  6oo°'and  1600°  F. 

With  anthracite  and  steam  jet  blower,  noo°  F.  is  a  frequent 
temperature. 

Some  Clues  to  Producer  Operation. — The  increased  effi¬ 
ciency  of  this  apparatus  will  repay  a  better  supervision  than  it 
frequently  receives. 

Among  the  most  common  sources  of  trouble  are  irregular 
charging  and  neglect  of  attendant  to  close  up  the  channels  which 
form  in  the  bed  and  permit  air  to  ascend  freely.  The  gases  and 
air  tend  also  to  seek  the  walls,  and  the  bed  must  be  sufficiently 
solidified,  by  stoking  to  retard  this  and  close  the  openings  in  the 
bed.  Too  rapid  driving  or  too  thin  fuel  bed  produce  the  same 
result  as  this  neglect  and  air  gets  in  too  freely,  burning  the  gas 
within  the  producer.  The  result  is  high  C02,  low  CO  and  H, 
while  the  temperature  of  the  gas  is  high  and  variable. 

Excessive  steam  also  increases  C02  with  decreased  CO  and 
higher  H.  See  also  p.  23. 

Too  little  steam  results  in  high  temperature  of  gas  and  may 
cause  trouble  from  clinkering  if  ash  of  fuel  has  that  tendency,  but 
it  lowers  C02  and  H,  with  increase  of  CO. 

Increase  of  blast  pressure  has  sometimes  a  beneficial  action. 

Simple  water  gauges  will  often  be  a  useful  guide  when  regis¬ 
tering  the  pressure  at  top  and  bottom  of  the  producer  or  on  the 
system ;  this  especially  to  those  whose  inspection  is  irregular.  In 
all  cases  frequent  analyses  of  gas  should  be  made,  that  the  factors 
governing  any  particular  practice  may  be  determined  and  properly 
regulated. 

Producer  Fuel. — By  previous  gasification  in  a  producer 
materials  quite  unsuited  for  heating  operations  are  made  avail¬ 
able.  Especially  is  this  true  of  substances  containing  much  mois¬ 
ture,  turf  or  peat,  wood,  sawdust,  tan  bark,  etc.  The  water  may  be 
readily  removed  from  the  gases,  which  can  then  be  applied  to 
operations  requiring  high  temperature. 

In  general,  of  course,  the  composition  and  heating  value  of 
the  gas  vary  with  that  of  the  fuel.  The  carbonized  fuels,  as 


R.  D.  IVood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


25 


coke  and  charcoal,  work  more  favorably  than  those  above  cited 
or  soft  coals,  but  with  them  it  is  the  more  important  to  avoid 
cooling  the  gases  before  their  consumption. 

In  gasification  of  fuels  having  a  high  percentage  of  water, 
high  C02  and  H  may  be  found  in  the  gas.  This  may  be  ex¬ 
plained  by  the  fact  that  at 'about  iioo0  F.  water  vapor  oxidizes 
CO  to  C02  thus : 

CO  +  H2Q  =  C02  +  H2. 


Lignite  . — Experiments  made  by  ourselves  in  the  application 
of  Texas  Lignite  in  Revolving  Bottom  Gas  Producers,  under  the 
inspection  of  the  State  Geologist  of  Texas,  resulted  in  demonstrat¬ 
ing  its  great  worth  as  a  basis  of  gas  production.  The  lignite  tested 
resembles  in  composition  much  of  this  class  of  fuel  abounding  in 
Western  States,  and  consists  of 

Per  Cent. 


Moisture  .  21.86 

Volatile  matter  . .  31.81 

Fixed  carbon  .  36.85 

Ash  . 9.48 


The  gas  is  high  in  hydrocarbons,  and,  as  a  consequence,  its 
flame  produces  an  intense  heat. 

The  following  analysis  of  the  coal  and  gas  show  the  result  of 

.gasifying  similar  Peruvian  coals  : 

COAL.  gas. 


Water . 

.18  per 

cent. 

co2  . 

. 6.4 

per  cent. 

Volatile  matter.. 

.40  “ 

c2h,  . 

. 7 

n  a 

Fixed  carbon  . . . 

.31  “ 

U 

0  . 

. 8 

a  u 

Ash . 

.  9  “ 

a 

CO  . 

a  •  a 

Sulphur . 

•  3-5  “ 

a 

H  . 

.  9-6 

u  a 

CH4  . 

a  a 

N  . 

. 58.9 

(diff.) 

Gas  from  the  earthy  and  brown  coals  is  very  largely  employed 
in  Europe  in  many  metallurgical  works  and  manufactories  requir¬ 
ing  high  temperature  furnaces,  as  in  iron  and  steel,  potteries,  glass 
works,  etc.  There  is  no  apparent  reason  why  the  lignitic  coals  of 
the  West  should  not  be  as  satisfactorily  used.* 


Tan  Bark  . — Gasification  of  spent  tan  bark  has  also  been 
successfully  accomplished  in  our  Producers. 

The  spent  tan  bark  had  the  following  composition : 

Per  Cent. 


Moisture  .  38.67 

Ash  .  3  24 


*  Recent  tests  of  lignite  from  Greece  also  gave  good  results,  a  gas  engine  running  steadily 
von  this  gas  for  eight  hours  during  the  test. 


26 


R.  D.  IVooi  &  Co.,  Philadelphia . 


The  gas,  obtained  from  the  Producer  plant  of  special  character, 
after  its  cooling  and  washing  analyzed  as  follows : 


i  2  3 

C02  .  io.8  18.8  15.0 

O  . 6  .4  .4 

.  10,2  ’  I4-2  „  per  cent,  by  volume. 

CH4  .  2.4  4.8  5.6  r 

H  .  16.4  14.0  8.7 

N  .  52.2  51.8  56.0  _ 


Calorific  powers  determined  repeatedly  by  a  Junker's  calo¬ 
rimeter  gave  125,  132,  141  B.  T.  U.  per  cubic  foot. 

Mixed  with  25  per  cent,  of  coke  fines,  an  average  of  145 
B.  T.  U.  was  obtained. 

The  Yield  of  Gas  from  different  fuels  varies  within  wide 
limits,  depending  upon  the  composition  and  general  character  of 
the  fuel  and  method  of  operation.  More  as  an  index  to  differ¬ 
ences  of  yield  than  accepted  data  the  following  figures  are  given, 
for  the  fuel  free  from  ash,  the  dry  gas  and  an  air  blast : 


Material.  Yield  per  Pound. 

Coke  or  charcoal  .  104 

Bituminous  coal  .  75 

Brown  coals  .  55  >  Cubic  feet. 

Turf  .  45 

Wood  .  35  v 

> 


Application  of  Producer  Gas. — It  has  been  applied  with 
such  marked  economy  for  so  many  purposes  that  it  is  now  con¬ 
sidered  essential  to  the  prosecution  of  many  lines  of  industry, 
notably  Steel  Works,  Rolling  Mills,  Smelting  Furnaces,  Glass 
Works  and  Chemical  Works.  Its  almost  exclusive  use  in  these 
and  many  new  fields  is  only  a  question  of  time,  for  the  reason, 
emphasized  now  by  failing  natural  gas  supply,  that  our  only  staple 
and  reliable  source  of  Heat  on  a  large  scale  is  coal  and  that  the 
most  satisfactory  method  of  utilizing  its  heat  is  to  first  convert  it 
into  Gas  and  Ashes ;  this  is  the  function  of  a  Gas  Producer. 

However,  in  considering  the  use  of  producer  gas  in  any  new 
field  it  is  well  to  bear  in  mind  its  relative  weakness  (it  has  only 
about  one-fifth  the  energy  of  good  illuminating  gas  per  cubic  foot), 
and  that  its  most  successful  applications  are  in  operations  where  a 
considerable  body  of  the  gas  is  burned  rather  than  in  very  small 


R.  D.  hVood  &  Co Philadelphia. 


27 


work, where  illuminating  gas  is  suitable.  Yet  it  is  by  far  the  cheapest 
gas  made  per  unit  of  heat,  and  contains  more  of  the  energy  origi¬ 
nally  in  the  coal  than  any  other.  These  facts  make  it  a  very 
economical  fuel  when  properly  applied,  and,  in  addition  to  the  large 
high  temperature  furnaces  where  it  has  long  been  used,  there  are 
many  cases  where  it  can  be  applied  with  convenience  and  economy 
when  low,  even  heats  are  needed,  and  the  secondary  economies  are 
more  important  than  the  saving  in  the  fuel  consumed.  But  in  this 
class  of  work  as  much  depends  on  the  proper  application  of  the  gas 
to  the  special  purpose  as  on  its  production. 


THE  TAYLOR  GAS  PRODUCER. 

A  Gas  Producer  is  perhaps  the  simplest  of  all  metallurgical 
furnaces ;  in  fact,  almost  any  vessel  capable  of  containing  a  deep 
bed  of  incandescent  coal  through  which  a  current  of  air,  or  air  and 
steam,  can  be  forced  or  drawn  is  a  good  producer  for  a  short  time. 
But  from  the  time  they  were  first  brought  into  use,  thirty  years  or 
more  ago,  up  to  nearly  the  present,  the  removal  of  the  ashes  and 
clinkers  has  been  always  attended  with  a  serious  expenditure  of 
time,  labor  and  fuel.  Various  plans  to  overcome  these  difficulties 
have  been  tried,  but  now  almost  all  producers  are  constructed  with 
some  sort  of  a  grate,  and  differ  principally  in  the  kind  used,  or  in 
some  detail  of  construction. 

The  Taylor  Producer  was  designed  as  a  result  of  the  troubles 
experienced  by  its  inventor,  Mr.  W.  J.  Taylor,  in  the  use  of  various 
types  of  producers  for  manufacturing  producer  gas  in  connection 
with  his  ore-roasting  kilns  at  Chester  Furnace,  N.  J.,  during  a 
period  of  more  than  twelve  years.  The  irregular  quality  and  quan¬ 
tity  of  the  gas,  the  frequent  stoppages  necessary  for  cleaning,  the 
excessive  labor  and  the  great  waste  of  coal  in  the  ash  in  the  best 
producers  then  attainable,  conspired  to  turn  his  attention  to  the 
invention  of  an  apparatus  as  free  as  possible  from  these  defects. 

After  experimenting  for  years,  Mr.  Taylor  designed  a  solid 
circular  bottom  or  table  to  carry  a  deep  bed  of  ashes,  and  arranged 
to  revolve ;  the  revolving  of  this  bottom  discharges  the  ash  and 


28 


R.  D.  Wood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


clinker  over  its  edge  into  a  sealed  ash  pit  beneath.  This  device  has 
been  well  received  by  engineers  and  the  manufacturing  public. 

What  Constitutes  a  Good  Gas  Producer. — It  is  some¬ 
times  said  that  anything  in  the  form  of  a  closed  box  with  a  grate 
under  it  is  good  enough  for  a  gas  producer;  and,  in  fact,  several 
types  of  gas  producer  which  are  nothing  more  than  such  crude 
appliances  have  come  into  use  owing  to  the  general  desire  to  obtain 
everything  of  the  cheapest  possible  construction ;  the  sole  idea 
apparently  being  to  make  something  to  sell  cheap,  regardless  of  the 
essential  conditions  for  producing  good  gas  continuously,  with 
minimum  labor  and  no  waste  of  fuel. 

These  conditions  are  briefly  as  follows : 

1.  A  continuous  automatic  feeding  device  which  shall  spread 
the  coal  uniformly  and  continuously  over  the  entire  surface  of  the 
fire.  This  avoids  the  customary  losses  and  annoyance  from  escap¬ 
ing  gases  at  the  dropping  of  a  full  charge  at  once,  as  in  usual 
methods  of  feeding.  Experience  has  shown  that  in  some  applica¬ 
tions  of  producer  gas  the  disturbing  influence  of  intermittent  charg¬ 
ing  seriously  affects  the  heating  operation.  The  beneficial  effects 
of  the  continuous  feed  are  felt  in  a  uniform  gas  of  better  average 
quality  and  of  regular  flow,  in  reduced  labor  of  attendance  and 
advantage  to  workmen,  while  further  promoting  the  cleanliness  and 
order  of  the  plant  and  the  economy  of  its  operation. 

2.  The  incandescent  bed  of  fuel  must  be  carried  on  a  bed  of 
ashes  several  feet  thick.  This  is  necessary  in  order  that  the  fuel 
shall  gradually  burn  out  and  cool  before  being  discharged.  If  this 
is  not  done,  and  the  incandescent  fuel  is  carried  down  close  to  a 
grate,  it  is  impossible  to  prevent  its  passing  through  the  grate  in 
considerable  quantities  as  coke ;  and  even  such  as  is  fully  burned  out 
passes  away  hot  instead  of  cool  and  moist. 

3.  It  is  necessary  to  carry  the  blast  up  through  this  deep  bed 
of  ashes,  by  means  of  a  conduit,  to  near  the  point  where  the  fuel  is 
incandescent,  and  thus  avoid  the  necessity  of  blasting  through  the 
ashes.  By  this  means  the  depth  of  ashes  upon  which  the  fire  is 
carried  can  be  made  as  great  as  is  desired.  This  is  not  the  case  with 
producers  whose  blast  is  supplied  underneath  the  grates ;  they,  of 
necessity,  have  to  carry  a  very  shallow  bed  of  ashes,  with  consequent 
loss  of  fuel  in  so  doing. 


R.  D.  Wood  &*  Co Philadelphia. 


29, 


4.  The  point  where  ashes  are  removed  must  be  open  and  vis¬ 
ible  to  the  attendant  while  removing  them,  as  it  is  absolutely  neces¬ 
sary  that  he  sees  what  he  is  doing.  It  must  also  be  cool  enough  for- 
him  to  work  without  great  inconvenience.  Producers  which  work 
with  closed  or  water-sealed  bottoms  do  not  cover  this  important 
point ;  the  attendants  dig  into  the  ashes  which  they  cannot  see,  and 
therefore  cannot  control  the  fire  intelligently ;  they  have  to  guess 
what  they  are  doing.  In  many  such  producers  the  ashes  have  to  be 
forced  through  the  grates  by  long  bars  from  above,  which  involves 
a  large  amount  of  the  hardest  and  most  trying  labor,  and  necessi¬ 
tates  the  carrying  of  a  comparatively  shallow  bed  of  fuel,  as  other¬ 
wise  the  men  cannot  force  their  bars  through  it  from  above.  This., 
shallow  fuel  bed  and  excessive  poking  results  in  a  poor  gas,  high 
in  carbonic  acid,  for  one  of  the  essential  conditions  for  making 
carbonic  oxide  and  for  decomposing  the  steam  is  a  deep  bed  of 
incandescent  fuel*  The  work  with  the  bar  of  the  attendant  above 
should  be  merely  to  distribute  the  fuel  properly  over  the  surface 
after  it  has  been  dropped  from  the  hopper,  and  not  to  poke  holes 
through  the  fire.  The  ashes  should  be  removable  from  a  clear,  open,, 
space  below,  and  not  through  grates. 

5.  It  is  necessary  that  the  support  upon  which  the  contents  of 
the  producer  are  carried  should  be  level  and  horizontal.  Any  form 
of  sloping  grate,  no  matter  how  the  slopes  are  arranged,  will  pro¬ 
duce  an  uneven  thickness  of  fire  bed ;  the  blast  will  have  freer 
access  through  the  fire  at  some  points  than  at  others,  and  there  will 
always  be  a  shallow  place  through  which  coke  easily  finds  its  way 
before  being  properly  consumed.  Any  form  of  grate  is  undesirable, 
because  it  necessitates  the  passage  of  ashes  through  it ;  but  a  sloping 
grate  is  particularly  objectionable.  There  is  usually  no  access  to. 
the  place  where  clinkers  are  formed,  or,  if  such  access  is  provided, 
it  opens  right  into  the  gas-producing  zone,  which  involves  either 
shutting  off  the  producer  entirely  or  the  possibility  of  suffocating 
the  attendant  by  the  escape  of  gas. 

For  a  successful  gas  producer  the  conditions  .are  summarized 
as  follows : 

1.  A  continuous  and  automatic  feed;  the  former 
for  regularity  and  uniformity  of  gas  prpduction  with 


30 


R.  D.  IVood  &  Co., 


Philadelphia. 


A 

REVOLVING  BOTTOM  GAS  PRODUCER,  WITH  BILDT  CONTINUOUS 

AUTOMATIC  FEED. 


R.  D.  Wood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


31 


improved  quality,  the  latter  for  eliminating  negligence  of 
attendants. 

2.  A  deep  fuel  bed  carried  on  a  deep  bed  of  ashes ; 
the  first  to  make  good  gas,  and  the  second  to  prevent  waste 
of  fuel. 

3.  Blast  carried  by  conduit  through  the  ashes  to  the 
incandescent  fuel. 

4.  Visibility  of  the  ashes,  and  accessibility  of  the 
apertures  for  their  removal,  arranged  so  that  operator  can 
see  what  he  is  doing. 

5.  Level,  grateless  support  for  the  burden,  insuring 
uniform  depth  of  fuel  at  all  points,  and  consequent  uniform¬ 
ity  in  the  production  of  gas. 

The  Bildt  Patents  broadly  cover  point  No.  1.  While  many 
attempts  have  been  made  to  accomplish  this  result,  the  Bildt  Con¬ 
tinuous  Automatic  Feed  Device,  manufactured  by  us,  is  the  only 
practicable  arrangement  ever  offered  to  the  trade  and  kept  success¬ 
fully  in  operation.  As  to  points  Nos.'  2  and  3  any  construction 
which  carries  the  blast  up  through  a  deep  bed  of  ashes,  the  point 
of  application  of  the  blast  to  the  fuel  thus  being  at  some  height 
above  the  bottom  of  the  ash  bed,  is  an  infringement. 

The  conditions  Nos.  4  and  5  are  also  covered  in  a  most  excellent 
arrangement ;  and,  while  it  may  be  varied  in  detail,  it  will  be  found 
that  our  design  is  a  most  practicable  and  thoroughly  mechanical 
one,  which  cannot  be  surpassed  for  simplicity  and  effectiveness. 

Referring  to  the  preceding  cut  A,  the  No.  8  Producer  is  shown 
as  charged  with  anthracite  coal,  the  incandescent  fuel  being  sup¬ 
ported  by  the  bed  of  ash,  which  is  put  upon  the  revolving  bottom 
before  firing;  and  this  bed  of  ash  is  maintained  as  essential  to  the 
successful  operation  of  the  producer. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  revolving  bottom  is  of  greater 
diameter  than  the  bottom  of  the  bosh,  and  is  placed  at  such  a  dis- 


32 


R.  D.  IVood  Sr  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


tance  therefrom  that  when  it  is  revolved  the  ash,  which  forms  its 
own  slope  at  an  angle  of  about  55  °,  is  discharged  uniformly  by  its 
own  gravitation  over  the  periphery  and  into  the  sealed  ash  pit  below 
(which  is  under  blast  pressure),  all  without  stopping  the  producer, 
and  with  little  interference  with  the  making  of  gas.  In  the  regular 
operation  of  the  producer  the  line  between  the  ashes  and  fuel  is 
kept  about  six  inches  above  the  cap  on  the  central  air  pipe,  thus  per¬ 
mitting  the  fire  to  come  into  contact  only  with  the  brick  lining ;  and 
all  ironwork  is  kept  away  from  the  heat. 

The  grinding  is  done  as  fast  as  the  ashes  rise  too  far  above  the 
desired  line ;  say  every  six  to  twenty-four  hours,  according  to  the 
rate  of  working.  The  bed  of  ash  is  kept  about  three  and  a  half  feet 
deep  on  the  revolving  bottom  in  the  larger  sizes,  so  that  ample  time 
is  given  for  any  coal  which  may  pass  the  point  of  air  admission 
without  being  consumed  to  burn  entirely  out;  while  in  a  producer 
with  a  grate  it  would  have  fallen  into  the  ash  pit  and  been  wasted. 
This  is  an  important  point  and  gives  this  producer  a  record  for 
economy  of  fuel  superior  to  that  of  any  other,  tests  of  a  week  or 
more  having  been  made  when  the  loss  of  carbon  in  the  ash  averaged 
less  than  one-half  of  one  per  cent. 

The  turning  of  the  revolving  bottom  causes  a  grinding  action 
in  the  lower  part  of  the  fuel  bed  and  closes  up  any  channels  that 
may  have  been  formed  by  the  blast,  thus  keeping  the  carbonic  acid 
in  the  gas  at  a  minimum.  A  few  turns  of  the  crank  at  frequent 
intervals  will  keep  the  fuel  bed  in  a  solid  condition,  reducing  the 
necessity  of  frequent  poking  from  above.  The  door  of  the  ash  pit 
is  opened,  say  once  a  day,  for  taking  out  the  ashes  and  clinkers ;  this 
requires  but  a  short  time,  and  interferes  but  little  with  the  continu¬ 
ous  working  of  the  producer. 

The  blast  is  generally  furnished  to  the  producer  by  a  steam  jet 
blower.  A  fan  blower  may  be  used  if  more  convenient,  but  then  a 
small  steam  pipe  must  be  run  into  the  vertical  air  pipe  to  supply  the 
steam  necessary  for  softening  the  clinkers  and  keeping  down  the 
temperature  of  the  producer.  In  general,  it  is  desirable  to  use  as 
large  a  proportion  of  steam  as  can  be  carried  without  lowering  the 
temperature  of  the  fuel  bed  below  the  point  where  all  the  steam  will 
be  dissociated,  but  any  steam  passing  through  the  fuel  bed  into  the 
gas  will  reduce  its  effectiveness. 

The  injected  air  and  steam  are  introduced  through  a  central 
pipe,  and  are  discharged  radially  therefrom  in  order  to  prevent  too 


R.  D.  IVood  &  Co. ,  Philadelphia 


33 


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REVOLVING-BOTTOM  GAS  PRODUCER,  HALF  WATER-JACKET 

UPPER  CASING. 


34 


R.  D.  lVood.&  Co Philadelphia. 


much  travel  of  the  gas  next  the  walls,  which  is  the  line  of  least 
resistance.  This  pipe  is  placed  with  its  top  at  a  point  sufficiently 
high  to  carry  the  required  bed  of  ashes,  the  top  of  which  should 
never  be  brought  as  low  as  the  top  of  this  central  air  pipe.  Sight  or 
test  holes  are  placed  in  the  walls,  so  that  the-  dividing  line  between 
the  ashes  and  the  incandescent  coal  can  be  ascertained  at  any  time. 
Sometimes  this  dividing  line  becomes  higher  on  one  side  than  the 
other.  To  remedy  this,  four  sets  of  agitating  bars  or  scrapers  are 
arranged  just  above  the  revolving  table,  any  of  which  may  be  pulled 
out  in  case  the  ashes  grind  down  too  fast  on  one  side ;  this  retards 
the  discharge  on  that  side  and  levels  up  the  ash  bed.  Gates  are  also 
provided,  where  anthracite  coal  is  to  be  used,  which  may  be  ar¬ 
ranged  around  the  bottom  of  the  ash  bed  to  entirely  cut  off  the 
discharge  of  ash  on  the  low  side  when  necessary.  The  boshes  are 
perforated  for  the  admission  of  punching  bars,  which  are  inserted 
through  the  observation  doors  in  the  lower  casing,  for  the  breaking 
up  of  occasional  clinker  which  by  inattention  or  bad  coal,  or  both, 
has  become  too  large  to  pass  down  and  out  without  trouble. 

The  preceding  illustration  B  shows  a  No.  7  Producer  of  the 
half  water- jacketed  type,  and  which  is  especially  adapted  to  service 
in  gasifying  coals  of  inferior  quality  liable  to  clinker.  The  water- 
jacket  rises  from  the  top  of  the  bosh  about  half-way  upward  so  as 
to  extend  around  the  space  occupied  by  the  incandescent  fuel,  the 
producer  being  lined  above  the  water-jacket  with  fire  brick  in  the 
ordinary  way.  The  clinker  will  not  adhere  so  readily  to  the  smooth 
sides  of  the  water-jacket  as  to  fire  brick,  and  the  former  is  not  liable 
to  injury  when  the  poker-bars  are  used  from  above. 

This  design  is  modified  in  special  instances  by  carrying  the 
water-jacket  all  the  way  to  the  top;  but  water-jacketed  producers 
are  not  recommended  where  the  gas  is  used  for  heating  purposes, 
as,  compared  with  brick-lined  producers,  there  results  from  the  use 
ct  thcwater- jacket  a  loss  of  temperature,  and  consequently  less  dis¬ 
sociation  of  steam.  Hence,  unless  the  heat  of  the  water  can  be 
utilized  (see  page  74)  or  the  character  of  the  coal  necessitates  the 
use  of  the  water-jacket,  the  brick-lined  producer  is  preferable. 

There  are,  However,  many  operations  where  a  considerable 
quantity  of  hot  water  is  required.  In  such  cases,  if  the  water  has 
not  to  be  retained  against  boiler  pressure,  the  casings  require  less 
staying  for  requisite  strength,  and  are  therefore  of  simpler  and 
cheaper  construction. 


R.  D.  PVood  Sr  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


35 


The  Bildt  Continuous  Automatic  Feed  Device. — It  is 

generally  recognized  that  the  more  uniform  the  freshly  .charged 
layer  of  coal  is  kept  in  a  gas  producer,  the  better  the  results  obtained 
by  the  more  uniform  combustion  prevailing.  Gas  producers  are 
ordinarily  charged  with  coal  by  fil.ing  some  form  of  hopper  either 
by  hand  or  from  some  overhead  chute.  By  releasing  the  “bell,” 
“cone  damper,”  or  equivalent  device,  the  charge  falls  into  the  pro¬ 
ducer.  The  best  of  such  devices  have  long  been  recognized  as 
deficient  by  not  evenly  distributing  the  coal  over  the  gas  producing 
surface,  a  defect  remedied,  but  still  imperfectly,  by  the  attendant 
using  a  spreading  bar  inserted  through  the  poker  holes  of  the  pro¬ 
ducer  top-plate.  Because  of  this  varying  thickness  in  the  fuel  bed, 
the  gases  vary  in  composition  at  different  portions  of  the  bed,  excess 
of  carbonic  acid  and  other  inert  gases  arises  with  consequent  waste 
of  fuel.  The  bed  will  burn  better  in  one  place  than  another,  form¬ 
ing  local  channels  of  higher  heat  and  stronger  tendency  to  clinker- 
ing.  Moreover,  the  charging  operation  being  repeated  every  ten  to 
twenty  minutes,  a  great  volume  of  gas  escapes  at  each  dropping  of  a 
charge,  a  loss  further  increased  by  the  subsequent  opening  of  the 
poker  holes  for  spreading  the  coal  and  breaking  up  incipient  clink¬ 
ers.  The  workman  in  such  an  atmosphere  is  soon  enervated  and 
frequently  the  producer  is  left  to  adapt  itself  as  best  it  can  to  these 
irregularities  of  feeding,  and,  human-like,  resents  it  later  by  serious 
internal  difficulties. 

The  Bildt  continuous  automatic  feed,  as  its  name  implies,  con¬ 
tinuously  delivers  the  fuel  in  a  steady  shower  of  coal  in  controlled 
volume  from  the  deflecting  surfaces  of  a  constantly  rotating  dis¬ 
tributer.  Being  automatic,  it  eliminates  any  possible  negligence 
on  the  part  of  the  attendant  in  supplying  fuel,  and  receiving  its 
supply  from  a  closed  storage  magazine  above  the  producer,  it 
avoids  the  serious  loss  of  gas  arising  from  other  methods  of 
charging.  The  storage  magazine  is  of  a  capacity  requiring  to  be 
filled  at  longer  intervals  than  usual,  and  then,  as  stated,  with 
trifling,  if  any,  loss  of  gas.  Thus  a  large  saving  in  fuel  and  labor 
is  effected,  while  the  comfort  and  health  of  the  attendant  is  pro¬ 
moted. 

Where  but  one  producer  is  in  use,  or,  in  any  case  where  the 
fluctuations  in  the  gaseous  current  are  injurious,  and  they  are 
sometimes  seriously  so,  this  form  of  feed  will  be  of  increased  value. 
By  its  use  also  producers  of  greater  area  can  be  successfully 


36 


R.  D.  Wood  &  Co Philadelphia. 


operated  where  hand  charging  would  fail,  as  the  coal  can  be  dis¬ 
tributed  equally  as  well  over  a  large  as  over  a  small  area. 

The  apparatus  consists  of  a  receiving  hopper  surmounting  the 
main  storage  magazine,  communication  between  the  two  being 
regulated  by  the  horizontal  rotating  register  or  gate  operated  by  a 
lever. 


BILDT  CONTINUOUS  AUTOMATIC  FEED. 


Below  the  main  magazine  is  suspended  the  distributer  plate,  its 
inclosing  shield  or  hood,  as  well  as  the  inverted  conical  base  of  the 
magazine,  being  water  cooled.  The  influence  of  the  cooling  water 
and  the  location  of  the  plate  above  the  gaseous  current  facilitates 
the  discharge  with  strongly  caking  coals.  The  distributer  plate  is 
supported  by  a  steel  shaft  passing  upward  through  the  storage 
cylinder  and  suitably  guided  as  shown.  At  the  upper  end  of  the 


R.  D.  IVood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


37 


shaft,  above  the  supporting  bracket,  a  worm-wheel  and  worm  im¬ 
part  rotation  to  the  receiving  hopper  which,  through  its  radial  arms 
and  hub  keyed  to  the  shaft,  revolves  the  distributer.  The  hand- 
wheel  nut  upon  the  threaded  end  of  the  axis  gives  means  of  adjust¬ 
ing  the  distance  between  the  distributer  plate  and  the  coal  reservoir. 
By  such  adjustment,  and  further  by  variable  speed  (one  revolution 
in  i-J  to  6  minutes)  secured  through  step  cone  pulley,  the  rate  of 
coal  discharge  is  readily  controlled.  Instead  of  belting,  the  worm 
may  be  driven  by  fixing  on  the  countershaft  an  eccentric  the  rod  of 
which,  extending  to  the  axis  of  the  worm,  cairies  a  pawl  engaging  a 
ratchet  wheel  on  the  worm  shaft. 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  CURVE  REPRESENTING  LINE  OF  DISTRIBUTION  OF 

DISTRIBUTER  PLATE. 

In  the  sides  of  the  magazine  are  holes  for  insertion  of  rod  or 
inspection  when  necessary.  The  lower  lip  of  the  dome  inclosing 
the  distributer  plate  slips  over  the  flange  or  rib  rising  from  inner 


38 


R.  D.  Wood  Sr  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


edge  of  the  top  plate,  the  joint  thus  formed  being  sealed  by  the 
water  lute  as  shown.  The  apparatus,  as  a  whole,  may  be  readily 
lifted  from  the  top  plate,  and,  therefore,  is  easily  accessible  and 
facilitates  entrance  to  the  producer  when  desired. 

The  cut  preceding  is  a  geometrical  development  of  the  lower 
edge  or  line  of  distribution  of  the  coal  from  the  distributer  and  is  a 
spiral. 

Such  line  of  distribution  is  secured  on  the  distributer  by  having 
a  dependent  flange,  the  flare  of  which  deviates  to  carry  the  distribut¬ 
ing  edge  along  the  line  of  a  spiral  as  far  as  experience  has  shown 
necessary.  The  cut  clearly  shows  that  by  the  revolution  of  such  a 
construction  every  portion  of  the  gas-producing  surface  is  covered 
by  some  point  of  discharge  of  this  plate. 

In  operating,  while  still  sufficient  coal  remains  in  the  main 
magazine  to  prevent  escape  of  gas  and  with  receiving  hopper  full, 
the  register  is  opened,  allowing  the  coal  to  enter  the  storage  com¬ 
partment.  If  desired,  the  gate  may  again  be  closed  and  the  opera¬ 
tion  repeated,  or,  in  first  instance,  the  full  capacity  of  magazine  is 
drawn  from  overhead  bin. 


Worcester,  Mass.,  U.  S.  A.,  February  n,  1898. 

This  is  to  Certify  that  a  Gas  Producer  supplied  with  the  Bildt 
Patented  Automatic  Feed  Device  in  connection  with  a  heating  furnace  has 
been  in  use  continuously  at  the  Washburn  &  Moen  Works  for  the  past 
seven  months. 

The  distributing  disk  shows  no  material  wear;  the  apparatus  has  re¬ 
quired  no  repairs,  and  its  general  excellence  can  be  highly  commended. 
The  coal  is  continuously  and  uniformly  distributed  over  the  charging  area,, 
and  the  gas  is  of  uniform  and  excellent  quality,  and  steadily  supplied. 

The  consumption  of  coal  is  greatly  reduced,  as  well  as  furnace  waste,, 
labor  and  repairs. 

The  analysis  of  the  gas  produced  is  as  follows: 

CO2  .  4.9 

O  . None 

CO  .  26.8 

C2H4 .  0.4 

CH .  3.5 

H  .  18. 1 

N  . 46.3 

100.00 

WASHBURN  &  MOEN  MFG.  CO. 

F.  H.  Daniels,  General  Supt . 


Noth:. — See  also  text  on  Producer  Gas  Power  Plants  for  further  testimonials. 


R.  D.  Wood  £r  Co Philadelphia . 


39 


The  preceding  letter  indicates  the  estimate  of  this  apparatus 
held  by  those  familiar  with  its  use,  and  where  the  producers  use 
soft  coal. 

Experience  has  amply  demonstrated  the  durability  of  this  dis¬ 
tributing  plate,  exposed  though  it  is  to  the  hot  gases  and  radiation 
from  the  fuel  bed,  while  the  simplicity  and  stability  of  construction 
of  the  whole  avoids  apprehension  of  frequent  repairs. 

Distributers  which  have  been  in  use  twenty  months  were  still 
intact  when  last  examined. 

The  apparatus  is  adapted  to  either  anthracite  or  bituminous 
coals,  and  of  the  latter  the  following  are  analyses  of  coals  with 
which  it  has  been  successfully  operated  and  in  “run  of  mine” 
grades : 


Water  . So 

Volatile  matter . 36.70 

Ash  .  7.65 

Sulphur  . 61 

Fixed  carbon  .  54-85 

Coke  .  62.50 


10.00 

42.00 

5-70 

2.20 

42.00 

47.70 


With  both  coals  it  permits  the  use  of  the  finer  sizes  and  in¬ 
ferior,  cheaper  grades.  Working  results  in  our  producers  with  this 
feed  on  such  grades  of  anthracite  is  more  fully  detailed  in  the 
description  of  the  Erie  Railroad  engine  gas  plant. 

Regularity  of  flow  and  in  the  composition  of  the  improved 
quality  gas,  economy  in  coal,  maintenance  of  better  fuel  bed,  reduc¬ 
tion  in  labor,  increased  comfort  of  attendance,  cleanliness  of  opera¬ 
tion  and  elimination  of  neglect  of  feed  are  features  of  this  device 
which  must  commend  it  to  those  at  all  familiar  with  gas  producer 
practice. 

Since  the  previous  issue  of  this  pamphlet  a  large  number  of 
these  devices  have  been  installed  on  both  soft  and  hard  coals,  two 
of  the  largest  steel  works  having  equipped  their  producers  with 
this  feed.  Whenever  desired,  for  reasons  of  special  practice,  dis¬ 
tributer  plates  of  cast  steel  may  be  substituted  for  the  usual  cast 
iron! 

It  is  made  in  sizes  to  suit  the  various  diameters  of  producers. 
Prices  quoted  upon  application. 


40 


R,  D.  Wood  £r  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


Another  arrangement  of  top  plate,  hopper  and  stoking  of 
which  we  have  supplied  a  number  is  the  patented  device  of  J.  Wm. 
Gayner,  of  Salem,  N.  J.  The  device  also  includes  a  disposition  of 
flues  and  scraping  attachments  which  permits  of  clearing  away  ac¬ 
cumulations  without  interruption  to  the  process.  The  construction 
is  an  outgrowth  of  his  experience  in  the  operation  of  gas  producers 
in  the  glass  industry,  and  is  designed  as  a  simple  expedient  for 
lessening  labor  and  promoting  continuous  operation  by  keeping 
clear  the  gas  conduits  where  usually  most  obstructed  by  deposits  of 
soot,  etc. 

By  water-sealed  hopper  lid,  gas  tight  lever  fulcrum,  suspended 
stoking  bars,  etc.,  there  is  secured  a  minimum  of  gas  leakage  and 
of  effort  in  manipulating  these  producer  attachments. 

The  arrangement  has  given  good  satisfaction,  and  we  are  pre¬ 
pared  to  furnish  them  or  quote  on  application. 

The  Producer  is  regularly  made  in  the  seven  sizes  given 
on  page  45,  in  which  the  design  is  altered  to  suit  varying  con¬ 
ditions  incident  to  location,  kind  of  coal  to  be  gasified  and  other 
requirements. 

The  type  illustrated  in  Design  A ,  p.  30,  with  a  revolving  bot¬ 
tom  and  shell  lined  with  fire  brick,  is  that  usually  adopted  for 
anthracite  and  a  good  quality  of  bituminous  coal.  For  bituminous 
coals  liable  to  clinker,  the  design  is  in  some  cases  modified,  as 
previously  explained,  by  a  water-jacket,  which  should  be  selected 
only  when  those  conditions  exist  (p.  34). 

In  some  rare  instances,  for  very  poor  coal,  the  revolving  gear 
has  been  eliminated,  retaining  the  solid  bottom  only ;  but  experience 
shows  that  even  for  such  coal  it  can  generally  be  used,  during  most 
of  the  day’s  run,  to  advantage;  hence  we  recommend  its  retention, 
though  it  may  often  be  necessary  to  work  down  the  ash  in  the  usual 
way.  The  half  water- jacketed  producer  has  been  successfully 
adopted  in  gasifying  low-grade  coals  in  Montana,  and  also  in 
Illinois.  The  latter,  in  addition  to  from  twenty  to  forty  per  cent, 
of  ash,  carries  a  large  quantity  of  pyrites,  so  that  the  clinkers  are 
large  and  extremely  hard,  testing  the  capacity  of  the  producers  most 
severely. 

In  numerous  instances  this  Producer  has  replaced  the  older 
type  of  grate-bar  producers,  the  change  resulting  in  a  decided 
improvement  in  the  quality  and  uniformity  of  the  gas,  and  far 


R.  D.  IVood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


41 


WATER-SEALED  PRODUCER  WITH  BILDT  FEED. 

(Shem  Patent.) 


42 


R.  D.  PVood  fir  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


more  perfect  gasification,  the  loss  of  coal  being  practically  nil. 
With  producers  of  the  half-jacketed  type  as  used  on  inferior  coals 
the  water-seal  may  sometimes  be  adopted  to  advantage.  With  the 
Standard  Producer,  however,  the  water-seal  is  not  necessary,  nor 
is  it  recommended,  in  that  it  requires  more  space  and  is  far  from 
cleanly. 

Water-Sealed  Producer. — There  are,  however,  special  cases 
where  a  water-sealed  bottom  may  be  desirable,  and  to  meet  which 
we  have  designed  the  water-seal  type  illustrated  on  page  41.  The 
special  feature  of  this  producer  is  the  double  bosh.  The  air  enter¬ 
ing  the  blast  pipe,  which  protrudes  through  the  bosh  plate,  passes 
to  the  vertical  central  air  conduit  and  circulates  also  about  the  inner 
boshes.  These  are  perforated,  permitting  the  passage  of  the  air 
into  the  ash  bed,  taking  up  its  heat  and  insuring  checking  the 
escape  of  combustible  matters  in  the  ash.  Any  accidental  obstruc¬ 
tion  in  the  blast  pipe  is  readily  accessible  by  removal  of  the  blank 
flange  at  extremity  of  the  blast  pipe.  Poker  holes  are  suitably 
placed  about  the  bosh  for  the  insertion  of  a  bar  if  desired.  Such 
producers  equipped  with  the  Bildt  automatic  feed  are  giving  most 
excellent  service,  some  of  them  operating  with  the  lignite  coals  in 
Western  districts. 

An  extra  heavy,  plain  cast  iron  top  is  sometimes  substituted  for 
the  usual  water-cooled  top. 

Producers  are  generally  placed  upon  an  ordinary  foundation  at 
ground  level,  but  in  large  batteries  are  frequently  elevated  and  pro¬ 
vided  with  inverted  cone  bottoms,  as  illustrated  on  page  43,  to 
receive  the  ash,  which  may  then  be  discharged  into  conveyors  or 
cars  underneath  them.  Conveyors  are  also  used  in  large  installa¬ 
tions  for  carrying  the  coal  into  bins  placed  above  the  producers,, 
from  which  it  may  be  drawn  through  chutes  as  required  for  charg¬ 
ing.  Such  a  plant  we  have  recently  installed  where  all  coal  and  ash 
are  chiefly  handled  by  automatic  feeds  and  conveyors,  reducing 
labor  to  a  minimum. 

These  modifications  in  our  producer  construction  and  practice 
are  thus  especially  noted  to  emphasize  the  fact  that  almost  every 
installation  requires  a  special  study  of  the  surroundings,  includ¬ 
ing  the  application  of  the  gas,  to  insure  the  best  results. 

In  the  operation  of  Gas  Producers  the  personal  equation  is  an 
all-important  factor.  Intelligent  direction  and  conscientious  atten- 


R.  D.  Wood  Sr  Co Philadelphia 


43 


tion  on  the  part  of  those  in  charge  of  producers  will  materially  in¬ 
crease  their  efficiency.  Not  infrequently  have  instances  been 
brought  to  our  attention  in  which  poor  results  obtained  in  one  plant 
as  compared  with  another  were  almost  entirely  due  to  carelessness. 
Again,  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  conditions  often  exist  beyond 
the  producers  which  materially  alter  the  results.  Especially  should 
the  mains  have  watchful  care  that  dust  accumulations  do  not  ob¬ 
struct  pipes  and  valves.  Cleaning  attachments  should  be  carefully 
located  for  the  convenience  and  least  labor  of  the  attendant. 


SECTIONAL  VIEW  OF  THE  LOWER  PART  OF  A  GAS  PRODUCER,  WITH1 
CONED  ASH-HOPPER  ATTACHED  BELOW  THE  REVOLVING 
BOTTOM,  AS  ERECTED  IN  BATTERIES. 

Battery  of  56  recently  installed  for  Cambria  Steel  Works* 


44 


R.  D.  IVood  Sr  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


Special  Advantages  of  the  Producer:  v 

1.  There  is  no  grate  to  waste  coal  through,  and  there  is  practi¬ 
cally  no  waste  in  cleaning.  The  deep  ash  bed  permits  the  coal  to 
burn  up  clean,  and  in  practice  the  carbon  is  frequently  gasified  so 
that  less  than  one-half  of  one  per  cent,  remains  of  the  original  carbon 
in  the  coal. 

2.  Any  clinkers  that  will  pass  through  a  six-inch  space  will  be 
discharged  from  the  producer  in  regular  grinding  without  any  manip¬ 
ulation  or  waste  of  fuel,  and  this  distance  may  be  increased  if  desired. 

3.  Cleaning  is  done  without  stopping  the  producer  for  a 
moment,  and  the  quality  of  the  gas  is  only  slightly  injured  for  a 
short  time ;  hence  the  producer  is  practically  continuous,  and  at  the 
same  time  it  is  just  as  perfect  an  apparatus  when  used  intermit- 
ently. 

4.  By  the  use  of  the  test  or  sight  holes  in  the  walls  the  at¬ 
tendant  always  knows  when  to  grind  down  his  ashes  and  when  to 
stop. 


5.  In  grinding  down  the  ashes  the  settling  of  the  fuel  is  active 
next  to  the  walls,  or  it  may  be  said  the  settling  is  more  from  the 
walls  to  the  center,  while  the  reverse  is  the  case  in  all  other  pro¬ 
ducers.  This  is  a  feature  that  all  experienced  in  producer  practice 
will  appreciate. 

6.  It  is  the  most  durable  producer  ever  built.  There  is  noth¬ 
ing  to  burn  out,  for  the  top  of  the  ironwork  is  six  inches  below  the 
fire,  and  the  lower  part  of  the  producer  is  nearly  cold. 

There  is  nothing  to  wear  out,  for  all  the  parts  are  heavy  cast¬ 
ings,  and  in  ordinary  working  the  table  revolves  only  three  or  four 
times  in  a  day.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  we  have  here  all  the  condi¬ 
tions  of  a  perfect  gas  producer  for  making  gas  from  either  an¬ 
thracite  or  bituminous  coal,  even  of  inferior  quality. 

7.  When  provided  with  the  continuous  automatic  feed  it  will 
operate  upon  qualities  and  sizes  of  coal  which  may  be  gasified  other¬ 
wise,  if  at  all,  only  with  greatest  difficulty,  while  in  steadiness  of 
/gas  production  of  uniform  and  improved  quality  it  cannot  be 
excelled. 


R.  D.  hVood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia 


4S 


Standard  Sizes  of  Gas  Producer. 

Design  A. 


Size  No. 

Inside  Diam. 
of  Brick  Lining 
or  Jacket. 

Area  of 

Fuel  Bed. 

Height  to  Top 
of  Casing. 

Approximate 

No.  of  Wedge 
Fire  Brick 
Required.* 

8 

8  ft. 

50-3  ft- 

16  ft. 

3200 

7 

7  ft- 

38.5  ft- 

15  ft. 

2800 

6 

6  ft. 

28.3  ft. 

15  ft. 

2300 

5 

5ft. 

19.6  ft. 

15  It. 

2000 

4 

4  ft. 

12.6  ft. 

12  ft. 

I3OO 

3 

3  ^ 

7.0  ft. 

IO  ft. 

950 

2 

2  ft. 

3.1  ft. 

IO  ft. 

680 

*  Based  on  fire  brick  of  sizes  regularly  used  by  us.  Fire  brick  sizes  vary  with  different 
makers. 

Larger  sizes  are  made  when  necessary,  the  automatic  feed  being  especially 
advantageous  in  larger  producers. 

Connections  are  made  ^  the  diameter  of  Producer  (see  page  49),  both  inside  brick  lining. 

Prices  on  Application.  Connections  and  fire  brick  for  lining  not  included  unless  so. 
specified. 

Directions  for  starting  and  operating  Producers,  on  page  93. 

Competent  men  to  erect  and  start  up  our  Producers  are  furnished  at  moderate  charges. 


PART  OF  BATTERY  OF  FOURTEEN  PRODUCERS. 


46 


R.  D.  IVood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia 


c 

GATE  VALVEj.WITH  OUTSIDE 
SCREW  STEM. 


D 

GATE  VALVE  WITH 
PLAIN  STEM. 


List  of  Valves  and  Fittings  for  Gas  Producers  and  Mains 


C — Gate  Valve  with  Outside  Screw  Stem  in  all  sizes  from  6"  to  6'. 

D—  “  “  “  Plain  Stem  “  “  “  6"  to  6'. 

E — Explosion  and  Cleaning  Door  for  End  of  Main,  14",  18",  20"  (see  page  47). 
F— Cleaning  Door.  Several  sizes  to  suit  Mains  (see  page  49). 

G — Sand  Valve  (with  Explosion  Door),  20",  24"  (see  page  47). 

H — Solid  Seat  Valve  (with  Explosion  Door),  10",  12",  15",  18",  21"  (see  page  49). 
I — Manhole  Cover. 


R.  D.  IVood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


47 


Explosion  Door. 


Producer  Installations. — The 

arrangement  of  producer  plants  and 
their  connections  naturally  depends 
very  much  on  local  conditions.  It  is 
desirable  to  locate  the  producer  as 
near  as  practicable  to  the  point  at 
which  the  gas  is  to  be  burned,  thus 
utilizing  the  sensible  heat  of  the  gas 
to  a  greater  degree  (see  page  59)  in 
burning  at  the  higher  temperature,  while  the  outlay  for 
connections  is  minimized.  To  this  end,  the  connection 
should  be  properly  lined,  as  far  as  may  be, 
with  fire  brick  or  other  non-conducting  ma¬ 
terial.  They  should  be  laid  out  with  a  view 
to  possible  extensions,  and  provided  with 
cleaning  and  safety  or  explosion  doors.  We 
make  a  specialty  of  gas-producer  installa¬ 
tions,  including  flues,  valves  and  other  details 
of  approved  design.  We  are  also  prepared  to 
supply  iron  operating  platforms ;  and,  where 
so  required,  complete  batteries  of  producers 
with  coned  ash  bottoms,  fuel  bins,  etc.  An 
interesting  instance  of  an  installation  of  this  kind  is  that  of  a  battery 
of  fourteen  producers  installed  by  us  for  the  Guggenheim  Smelting 
Company,  parts  of  which  are  shown  in  the  illustrations  on  pages 
45,  48  and  51. 


Sand  Valve. 


Piping  Producer  Gas. — Connections  should  be  of  such  size 
and  so  designed  and  constructed  as  to  convey  the  gas  with,  as  little 
loss  of  its  initial  temperature  as  possible,  and  should  be  provided 
with  suitable  valves,  safety  devices  and  sufficient  hand  and  man¬ 
holes.  The  loss  in  efficiency  in  piping  long  distances  is  greater  in 
bituminous  than  in  anthracite  gas.  In  the  former  the  loss  is  in¬ 
creased  owing  to  the  greater  condensation  and  deposition  of  the 
unfixed  heavy  hydrocarbons,  while  in  the  latter  (anthracite)  practi¬ 
cally  no  loss  results  except  from  cooling.  Probably  five  hundred 
feet  is  the  maximum  distance  to  which  bituminous  producer  gas 
should  be  carried ;  and  in  such  instances  it  is  essential  to  have  the 
flues  of  ample  diameter, — the  greater  the  distance  the  larger  the 
flue, — making  allowance,  of  course,  for  the  partial  consumption  of 


48 


R.  D.  Wood  Sr  Co.,  Philadelphia 


FROM  PHOTOGRAPH  SHOWING  PART  OF  AN  ILLUSTRATION  OF  CONE- 
BOTTOM  GAS  PRODUCERS,  WITH  CONNECTIONS. 

In  this  battery  the  Producers  are  supplied  with  coned  ash-hopper  bottoms  from 
which  the  ash  is  taken  by  conveyors,  which  are  also  used  to  convey  the  coal  to  bins 
above  the  Producers. 


R.  D.  Wood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


49 


the  gas  along  the  line.  It  is  usually  best  to  line  the  flues  with  fire 
brick  or  other  non-conducting  material  for  their  entire  length, 
though  cast  iron  mains  of  small  diameter,  18  inches  or  less,  prefer¬ 
ably  protected  with  asbestos  on  the  outside,  are  used  for  services 
which  do  not  justify  outlay  for  the  larger  lined  mains. 

The  size  of  connection  to  each  producer 
should  be  about  one-quarter  the  diameter  of 
the  producer  inside  of  the  lining, — thus  an 
8-foot  producer  should  have  a  24-inch  con¬ 
nection.  The  mains,  when  reasonably  short, 
should  have  the  same  area  as  the  sum  of  all 
producer  connections  feeding  them. 


H 

Solid  Seat  Valve. 


Cleaning  Door. 


Gas  per  Ton  of  Coal. — As  previously  noted,  the  amount 
of  gas  produced  from  a  ton  of  coal  varies  with  the  composition 
and  general  character  of  the  coal  and  the  method  of  operation,  of 
which  we  may  note  especially  the  proportion  of  steam  used  in 
blowing  the  producer.  But  on  the  average  it  may  be  assumed  that 
one  ton  of  anthracite  buckwheat  coal  produces  about  170,000  feet  of 
gas,  containing  138,000  heat  units  per  1000  feet.  Its  composition 
will  average  as  follows : 


CO,  Carbon  Monoxide  .... 
H,  Hydrogen  ..... 

CH4,  Methane,  Marsh  Gas  . 

C02,  Carbon  Dioxide,  “Carbonic  Acid” 
N,  Nitrogen  ..... 


Per  Cent. 

Per  Cent. 

22.0 

to 

3°.° 

15  0 

to 

7.0 

3-0 

to 

i-5 

6.0 

to 

i-5 

54-o 

to 

60.0 

100.0 

100.0 

A 


50 


R.  D.  PVood  &  Co Philadelphia. 


The  analysis  of  gas  from  bituminous  coal  is  nearly  the  same, 
except  that  CH4  is  a  trifle  higher  and  the  H  frequently  above  the 
maximum  noted  in  table.  But,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  an  analysis  of 
bituminous  gas  does  not  properly  represent  its  energy,  as  most  of 
the  volatile  combustible  of  the  coal  passes  off  as  a  non-fixed  gas 
and  does  not  appear  in  the  analysis  (being  condensed  in  the  tubes 
of  the  analytical  apparatus),  yet  it  is  utilized  in  the  furnace. 
(For  explanation  see  under  Gas  Fuel  and  Producer  Gas.) 


Capacity  of  Producers. — The  No.  8  Taylor  Producer  will 
easily  gasify  six  and  one-half  tons  of  anthracite  pea  coal  in  twenty- 
four  hours,  and  the  smaller  sizes  somewhat  more  in  proportion  to 
their  area.  A  deeper  fuel  bed  is  required  when  using  bituminous 
coal  than  with  anthracite,  and  the  quantity  gasified  varies  with  the 
quality,  usually  more  than  anthracite.  In  ordinary  service,  on  West 
Virginia  or  Pennsylvania  bituminous  coals,  the  No.  8  Producer  will 
average  eight  tons  in  twenty-four  hours,  or  666  pounds  per  hour, 
and  this  coal  is  all  gasified  that  is,  converted  entirely  into  gas  and 
ashes ;  no  coke  whatever  is  found  in  the  ash  from  the  producer,  a 
condition  which  does  not  exist  in  many  other  types,  notably  “water- 
sealed”  of  customary  type,  “sloping  grate”  and  so-called  “high 
capacity”  producers,  whose  makers  claim  a  capacity  far  beyond 
the  possibility  of  making  good  gas  or  completely  gasifying  the  coal 
so  rapidly  forced  through  them. 

The  fusibility  of  the  ash  in  any  coal  determines  its  maximum 
rate  of  combustion  in  a  producer.  Probably,  with  a  coal  having  the 
most  infusible  ash,  about  fifteen  to  sixteen  pounds  per  hour  is  the 
maximum  amount  that  can  be  gasified  continuously  per  square  foot 
of  fuel  bed.  An  exception  to  this  rule  is  found,  however,  in  the 
lignites  of  the  Western  States,  some  of  which  can  be  gasified  at  a 
much  higher  rate.  But  with  a  very  fusible  ash  the  rate  of  combus¬ 
tion  must  be  much  reduced  to  make  good  gas  continuously  without 
excessive  labor  or  much  waste. 


Fuel  .■ — In  making  gas  from  bituminous  coal  the  best  results  are 
obtained  from  a  good,  clean  coal,  low  in  ash  and  moisture  and  high 
in  volatile  matter.  A  poorer  quality  does  not  make  as  good  a  gas, 
nor  can  the  producer  be  driven  as  hard. 


R.  D.  Wood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia 


51 


A  PART  OF  A  BATTERY  OF  FOURTEEN  No.  7  CONE-BOTTOM 

GAS  PRODUCERS. 


52 


R.  D.  Wood  Sr  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


In  high  temperature  work  a  high  percentage  of  volatile  hydro¬ 
carbons  in  the  coal  is  very  desirable,  and  a  smaller  consumption  of 
coal  is  then  needed  to  do  a  given  work.  (See  under  Gas  Fuel  and 
Producer  Gas.)  Thus,  where  local  coals  are  but  inferior  and  cheap, 
it  may  be  cheaper  to  bring  from  a  distance  higher-priced  coals  of 
good  quality.  This  is  done  advantageously  in  numerous  instances. 

The  size  of  coal  is  not  so  important,  especially  when  the  coal 
cakes,  for  it  then  fuses  together  into  large  masses,  which  on  being 
broken  with  a  bar  make  the  fuel  bed  porous  and  open.  The  nut 
size  is  a  very  convenient  one  for  use  in  the  producer,  although  “run 
of  mine”  in  which  the  lumps  are  small  enough  to  pass  through  the 
hopper,  or  “slack,”  or  a  mixture  of  the  two,  are  used  very  success¬ 
fully.  The  clinkers  which  form  from  soft  coal  are  rarely  large,  and 
are  handled  with  little  trouble,  except  when  very  lean  coal  is  used. 

Although  the  producer  works  to  best  advantage  on  coal  of  good 
quality,  yet  the  superior  facilities  for  cleaning  and  the  perfect  appli¬ 
cation  of  the  steam  and  air  make  it  possible  to  use  successfully  a 
very  inferior  coal;  but  the  gasification  must  be  slower  than  with 
good  coal.  We  have  one  large  plant  using  a  slack  containing  over 
forty  per  cent,  of  ash,  and,  what  is  worse,  a  large  amount  of  sulphide 
of  iron ;  certainly  a  very  difficult  coal  to  deal  with. 

When  anthracite  is  used  the  cheapest  coal  is  a  No.  I  buckwheat, 
with  a  low  percentage  of  difficult  fusible  ash,  low  in  moisture  and 
high  in  volatile  combustible.  An  important  point  in  using  an¬ 
thracite  is  that  too  much  fine  dust  is  very  objectionable,  as  it  makes 
the  interstices  too  small,  or  much  smaller  in  some  parts  of  the  bed 
than  others.  This  tends  to  “honeycomb”  the  fire  bed  unless  much 
barring  is  done.  Or,  what  is  still  worse,  if  the  resistance  in  the 
fuel  bed  is  too  great  the  blast  will  seek  the  walls  as  the  place  of  least 
resistance,  and  the  gas  will  be  worthless,  becoming  high  in  carbonic 
acid.  Anthracite  in  the  form  of  culm  or  poorly  prepared  buckwheat 
cannot  be  gasified  to  advantage  in  a  producer.  However,  as  might 
be  expected,  a  continuous  feed  adjusted  to  just  maintain  the  proper 
fire  surface,  and  thus  showering  the  coal  regularly  and  as  gasified, 
largely  assists  in  using  these  coals  inferior  because  of  size  or 
quality. 

Because  of  the  large  percentage  of  ash  in  the  smaller  sizes  of 
anthracite  coal  there  is  greater  tendency  to  clinkering.  Mixtures 
of  coals  from  different  mines  may  produce  the  same  difficulty,  the 
combined  ash  forming  a  more  fusible  residue  than  either  coal  alone. 


R.  D.  IVood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia : 


53 


ANTHRACITE  COAL  SIZES. 


Size  and  Name. 

Through  a  Round  Hole.  Over  a  Round  Hole. 

Chestnut . 

i'/i  inches  diameter. 

X  “ 

9  ( (  (( 

T<T 

X  “ 

3  <(  44 

TS 

3  4  4  4  4 

i/g  inches  diameter. 

9  4  4  4  4 

TH 

Ts  “ 

7  “  “ 

TS 

3  ‘  <  n 

3? 

Pea . 

No.  t,  Buckwheat  . 

“  2,  “  or  Rice . 

“  3,  “  “  Barley... 

Dust . 

Comparative  Value  of  Fuel— Containing  Different  Per¬ 
centages  of  Ash  and  Carbon. — The  following  table  shows  the  rela¬ 
tive  values  of  fuel  used  in  furnace  practice,  either  coal  or  coke,  with 
different  percentages  of  ash.  Values  are  given  in  dollars  and  cents : 


•Note. —  The  carbon  and  hydrogen  are  counted  as  carbon.  Sulphur  generally  runs  about 
one-tenth  of  the  ash,  but  fuel  containing  over  one  per  cent,  of  sulphur  must  not  be  used  for 
making  iron  economically.  John  M.  Hartman. 


54 


R.  D.  IVood  &  Co ,  Philadelphia 


WORKS  PRIOR  TO  SHIPMENT. 


R.  D.  Wood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


55 


Gas  Fuel  and  Producer  Gas.* — The  utilization  of  fuel  may 
perhaps  be  called  the  industrial  question  of  the  times.  Fuel  plays 
such  an  important  part  in  our  modern  life,  and  its  cost  is  often  so 
large  a  part  of  the  expense  of  conducting  an  industrial  enterprise, 
that  constant  efforts  are  being  made  to  improve  our  imperfect 
methods  of  fuel  utilization  and  approach  more  nearly  to  the  theo¬ 
retical  limit  of  efficiency. 

Nature  has  furnished  us  with  fuel  in  three  forms,  solid,  liquid 
and  gaseous ;  solid,  the  most  common ;  liquid,  containing  the 
greatest  energy;  gaseous,  the  most  convenient  for  use.  The  ten¬ 
dency  of  the  day  is  to  the  conversion  of  solid  and  liquid  fuel  into  the 
gaseous  form.  This  is  partly  due  to  the  wonderful  developments 
of  natural  gas  in  various  portions  of  the  United  States,  and  the 
intimate  acquaintance  with  the  advantages  of  gas  as  compared  with 
other  forms  of  fuel  which  its  use  has  given  to  so  many  manufac¬ 
turers.  The  gradual  failure  of  supply  in  natural  gas  and  the  higher 
cost  of  oil-firing  is  giving  increasing  prominence  and  value  to  the 
gas  producer  converting  solid  gaseous  fuel. 

There  is  magic  in  the  word  “gas”  to  many  who,  through  lack 

of  knowledge,  imagine  that  by  mere  conversion  into  gas  an  immense 

quantity  of  energy  can  be  added  to  fuel  of  other  forms,  forgetful  of 

the  law  of  nature  that  the  conversion  of  anv  substance  from  one 

* 

form  to  another  involves  a  loss  of  effective  energy ;  and,  therefore, 
that  if,  in  certain  cases,  more  duty  can  be  obtained  out  of  the  gas 
resulting  from  a  given  amount  of  coal  than  the  coal  itself  will  supply 
when  used  direct,  the  cause  lies  solely  in  the  more  efficient  utiliza¬ 
tion  of  the  fuel  in  its  gaseous  state.  Nevertheless,  new  processes 
for  making  gas  are  constantly  crowded  upon  our  notice  with  claims 
of  far  more  energy  for  the  product  than  is  contained  in  the  coal  or 
oil  from  which  it  is  made. 

Advertisements  not  infrequently  appear  in  our  trade  papers  in 
which  the  promoters  promise,  by  various  mechanical  manipulations, 
to  deliver  a  gas  which  contains  from  one  and  a  half  to  three  times 
the  energy  originally  in  the  fuel.  These  impossible  schemes  are 
constantly  thrust  on  the  investing  public;  in  some  cases  doubtless 
without  intention  of  fraud,  but  through  the  ignorance  of  the  pro¬ 
moters  themselves.  Any  new  scheme  for  the  utilization  of  fuel  may 
safely  be  condemned  without  further  investigation  if  it  promises 
to  deliver  more  heat  than  (or  even  as  much  as)  the  theoretical 

*  Mainly  from  paper  by  W.  J.  Taylor. 


R.  D.  Wood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


56 


amount  contained  in  the  coal  or  oil  consumed  in  the  process  of 
manufacture. 

The  cheapest  artificial  fuel  gas  per  unit  of  heat  is  common 
producer  gas,  or  “air  gas,”  as  it  might  be  termed,  since  the  oxygen 
for  burning  the  carbon  to  carbon  monoxide  is  derived  mainly  from 
air.  The  associated  atmospheric  nitrogen  dilutes  the  carbon  mon¬ 
oxide,  making  air  gas  the  weakest  of  all  useful  gases — that  is,  the 
lowest  in  combustible,  both  in  weight  and  by  volume.  Next  in  the 
order  of  heat-energy  comes  water  gas,  in  which  the  oxygen  for 
combining  with  carbon  to  form  carbon  monoxide  is  derived  from 
water-vapor,  and  hydrogen  is  liberated.  For  equal  volumes,  this 
gas  has  more  than  double  the  calorific  power  of  air  gas.  Third  in 
the  ascending  scale  stands  coal  gas,  the  ordinary  illuminating  gas 
distilled  from  bituminous  coal,  which  carries  more  than  double  the 
heat-energy  of  water  gas.  Last  and  highest  in  the  list  comes  the 
gas  made  in  Nature’s  producer,  which  we  cannot  duplicate  in  prac¬ 
tice  by  any  known  process.  The  calorific  power  of  natural  gas  is 
about  fifty  per  cent,  greater  than  that  of  coal  gas.  The  introduc¬ 
tion  of  natural  gas  for  metallurgical  purposes  has  largely  stimu¬ 
lated  the  production  and  use  of  artificial  gas  made  from  coal  and 
from  oil,  if  the  vapors  of  the  latter  can  be  fairly  considered  a  gas. 

The  tables  given  below  will  be  found  useful  in  heat  calcula¬ 
tions,  and  although  not  minutely  accurate,  are  sufficiently  so  for 
practical  work.  The  British  thermal  unit  (B.  T.  U.)  is  used,  and 
the  heat-energies  given  are  calculated  upon  the  assumption  of  62° 
F.  as  the  initial  temperature,  and  the  reduction  of  the  temperature 
of  the  products  of  combustion  to  the  same  point  as  the  standard  for 
the  computation  of  all  heat-energies : 

Air  by  weight,  contains  23  parts  O,  77  parts  N. 

Air  by  volume,  contains  21  parts  O,  79  parts  N. 

Air  consumed  in  combustion : 

1  pound  C  burned  to  CO  consumes  1.33  pounds  O,  with  4.46  N,  mak¬ 
ing  579  Air. 

1  pound  C  burned  to  CO2  consumes  2.667  pounds  O,  with  8.927  N, 
making  11.594  Air. 


Heat-units 

For  1  pound 

For  1  cubic  foot 

developed  in 

of  combustible 

of  combustible. 

burning. 

B.  T.  U. 

B.  T.  U. 

C  to  CO . 

C  to  C02 . 

.  I45OO 

CO  to  C02 . 

.  4,325 

319 

H  to  H2O . 

327 

CH4  to  C02  and  H20 . . . . . . 

.  23,500 

1007 

C2H4  to  CO2  and  H20 . 

1593 

R.  D.  PVood  &  Co Philadelphia . 


57 


Of  course  hydrogen  is  usually  only  burned  to  steam,  and  the 
energy  in  this  case  at  62°  initial  and  2120  final  temperature, is  52,000 
heat-units,  or,  making  both  temperatures  2120,  about  53,000  heat- 
units.  Many  writers  use  this  standard  for  hydrogen  in  their  com¬ 
putations  ;  but  in  all  theoretical  calculations  hydrogen  should  be 
given  credit  for  the  energy  developed  when  the  products  of  combus¬ 
tion  are  reduced  to  the  standard  temperature,  and  the  losses  com¬ 
puted  in  its  utilization  from  that  standard. 

Number  of  cubic  feet  in  one  pound  of  the  following  gases,  at 
62°  F.,  and  atmospheric  pressure: — 


Air 
N  . 
O  . 
H  . 

CO 

co2 


13.14  cubic  feet  per  pound. 

13-50 

11.88 


189.70 

13.55 

8.60 


CH4  . . .  23.32 

C2H4  . .  1346 

Specific  heat  of  hydrogen . 

all  other  gases  may  be  taken  at 


il 

ii 


3-4 

0.25 


The  terms  44  heat-unit,”  44  specific  heat,”  and  44  latent  heat  ” 
are  not  well  understood  by  many  people,  but  the  following  defini¬ 
tions  by  a  well-known  authority  will  make  them  clear : 

4  Specific  heat  is  that  quantity  of  heat  required  to  raise  one 
pound  of  any  substance  one  degree  compared  with  that  required 
to  raise  the  temperature  of  an  equal  weight  of  water  one  degree. 
In  other  words,  in  writing  down  the  specific  heat  of  any  substance 
we  do  it  in  comparison  with  water.  That  is  to  say,  water  is  the  unit 
or  standard.  If  it  takes  three  and  four-tenths  times  as  much  heat 
to  raise  one  pound  of  hydrogen  one  degree  as  to  raise  one  pound 
of  water  one  degree,  we  say  the  specific  heat  of  hydrogen  is  3.4. 
Now  the  same  quantity  of  heat  that  will  raise  a  pound  of  water  one 
degree  will  raise  about  ten  pounds  of  iron  one  degree,  so  we  say  the 
specific  heat  of  iron  is  .10,  or,  to  be  exact,  .1098. 

'A  British  Thermal  Heat-Unit  (B.  T.  U.)  is  that  quantity  of 
heat  required  to  raise  one  pound  of  pure  water  one  degree  Fahren¬ 
heit  at  or  about  39.1 0  F. 

‘Thus,  when  we  say  that  a  pound  of  carbon  contains  14,500 
heat  units,  we  mean  that  if  the  pound  of  carbon  were  burned, 
enough  heat  would  be  generated  to  raise  the  temperature  of  14.500 
pounds  of  water  one  degree  Fahrenheit. 


58 


R.  D.  Wood  &■  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


4  Latent  heat  is  the  quantity  of  heat  that  must  be  imparted  to 
a  substance  to  effect  a  change  of  state  without  changing  its  tempera¬ 
ture,  as  when  ice  is  converted  into  water  or  water  into  steam. 

‘Latent  heat  is  therefore  insensible  heat,  or  heat  not  measurable 
with  a  thermometer.  There  is  the  latent  heat  of  liquefaction,  or  the 
heat  absorbed  in  or  by  a  substance  in  passing  from  a  solid  to  a 
liquid,  and  the  latent  heat  of  gasification,  or  the  heat  that  is  ab¬ 
sorbed  by  a  solid  or  a  liquid  in  passing  to  a  gaseous  condition. 

‘Water  in  passing  from  the  condition  of  ice,  at  a  temperature 
of  32°F.,  to  a  liquid  at  32°F.,  absorbs  142.4  units  of  heat  per 
pound ;  hence  the  latent  heat  of  water  is  142.4. 

‘Water  in  passing  from  a  liquid  at  2I2°F.  to  steam  at  2 12°F., 
absorbs  966  units  of  heat  per  pound,  and  therefore  we  say  that  the 
latent  heat  of  steam  is  966.  We  mean  that  the  heat  lost  or  absorbed 
by  one  pound  of  this  substance  in  passing  from  a  liquid  to  a  vapor, 
and  without  its  temperature  being  changed,  equals  the  heat  that 
would  be  required  to  raise  966  pounds  of  water  from  the  tempera¬ 
ture  of  32  °F.  to  that  of  33  °F. 

‘Ttiough  hardly  necessary  to  define,  sensible  heat  is  that  which 
gives  rise  to  the  sensation  of  heat  and  affects  the  thermometer.’ 

Fuel  Energetics — (Carbon  Gas,) — In  considering  any  gas 
fuel,  the  first  question  is  what  percentage  of  the  energy  of  the  fuel 
converted  is  delivered  with  the  gas?  Producer  gas,  though  the 
lowest  in  energy,  can  be  produced  more  cheaply  per  unit  of  heat 
than  any  other.  Yet  in  the  old  Siemens  producer,  practically  all  the 
heat  of  primary  combustion — that  is,  the  burning  of  solid  carbon  to 
carbon  monoxide — was  lost,  as  little  or  no  steam  was  used  in  the 
producer,  and  nearly  all  the  sensible  heat  of  the  gas  was  dissipated 
in  its  passage  from  the  producer  to  the  furnace,  which  was  usually 
placed  at  a  considerable  distance. 

Modern  practice  has  improved  on  this  early  plan,  by  introduc¬ 
ing  steam  with  the  air  that  is  blown  into  the  producer,  and  by  utiliz¬ 
ing  the  sensible  heat  of  the  gas  in  the  combustion-furnace.  One 
pound  of  carbon,  burned  to  2.33  pounds  of  carbon  monoxide,  CO, 
develops  4,400  heat-units,  or  about  30  per  cent,  of  the  total  carbon 
energy;  in  the  secondary  combustion,  2.33  pounds  of  carbon  mon¬ 
oxide  burned  to  3.66  pounds  of  carbon  dioxide  develop  10,100  heat- 
units,  or  70  per  cent,  of  the  total  energy ;  making  in  all  14,500  heat- 
units  for  the  complete  combustion  of  the  original  pound  of  carbon. 
Now,  it  is  evident  that  if  the  heat  of  the  primary  combustion  is  not 


R.  D.  IVood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


59 


employed  either  to  dissociate  water  or  to  impart  a  useful  high  tem¬ 
perature  to  the  gas,  30  per  cent,  of  the  energy  will  be  practically 
lost — i.c.,  the  gas  will  carry  into  the  furnace  only  70  per  cent,  of 
the  total  energy  of  the  carbon.  It  is  equally  evident,  that  if  all  the 
heat  of  primary  combustion  could  be  applied  to  the  dissociation  of 
water,  there  would  be  little  effective  loss  of  energy  in  conversion ;  or 
if,  instead  of  dissociating  water,  all  the  sensible  heat  of  the  gas 
(representing  the  heat  of  primary  combustion)  could  be  utilized,  the 
loss  would  similarly  be  reduced  to  nil.  But  the  complete  realization 
of  either  alternative  is  impossible,  for  the  loss  by  radiation  from  the 
producer  is  an  important  item,  and  the  unrecovered  energy  ex¬ 
pended  in  blowing  the  producer  with  air  and  steam  amounts  to 
from  3  to  5  per  cent. 

Good  practice  does,  however,  recover  a  considerable  percentage 
of  the  heat  of  primary  combustion  by  the  use  of  both  of  these  means 
— i.e.,  by  utilizing  the  sensible  heat  of  the  gas  through  close  attach¬ 
ment  of  producer  and  furnace,  and  by  introducing  with  the  air  blast 
as  much  steam  as  the  producer  will  carry  and  still  maintain  good 
incandescence.  In  this  way  about  60  per  cent,  of  the  energy  of 
primary  combustion  should  be  theoretically  recovered,  for  it  ought 
to  be  possible  to  oxidize  one  out  of  every  four  pounds  of  carbon 
with  oxygen  derived  from  water-vapor.  The  thermic  reactions  in 


this  operation  are  as  follows : — 

Heat-units. 

4  pounds  C  burned  to  CO  (3  pounds  gasified  with  O 

of  air  and  one  pound  with  O  of  water)  develop  17,600 

1.5  pounds  of  water  (which  furnish  1.33  pounds  of 
oxygen  to  combine  with  one  pound  of  carbon) 

absorb  by  dissociation .  10, 333 

The  gas  consisting  of  9.333  pounds  CO,  0.167  pounds 

H.,  and  13.39  pounds  N.,  heated  6oo°,  absorbs. .  3.748 

Leaving  for  radiation  and  loss .  3.519 


17,600 

(It  may  be  well  to  note  here  that  the  steam  which  is  blown  into 
a  producer  with  the  air  is  almost  all  condensed  into  finely  divided 
water,  before  entering  the  fuel,  and  consequently  is  considered  as 
water  in  these  calculations.) 

The  1.5  pounds  of  water  liberates  .167  pound  of  hydrogen, 
which  is  delivered  to  the  gas,  and  yields  in  combustion  the  same 
heat  that  it  absorbs  in  the  producer  by  dissociation.  According  to 
this  calculation,  therefore,  60  per  cent.,  of  the  heat  of  primary  com¬ 
bustion  is  theoretically  recovered  by  the  dissociation  of  steam,  and, 


6o 


R.  D.  IVood  &  Co Philadelphia. 


even  if  all  the  sensible  heat  of  the  gas  with  radiation  and  other 
minor  items  be  counted  as  loss,  yet  the  gas  must  carry  4  X  *14,500 
—  (3,748  -f-  3,5 19)  =  50,733  heat-units,  or  87  per  cent,  of  the 
calorific  energy  of  the  carbon.  This  estimate  shows  a  loss  in  con¬ 
version  of  13  per  cent.,  without*  crediting  the  gas  with  its  sensible 
heat,  or  charging  it  with  the  heat  required  for  generating  the  neces¬ 
sary  steam,  or  taking  into  account  the  loss  due  to  burning  some  of 
the  carbon  to  carbon  dioxide.  In  good  producer-practice  the  pro¬ 
portion  of  carbon  dioxide  in  the  gas  represents  from  4  to  7  per  cent, 
of  the  C  burned  to  C02,  but  the  extra  heat  of  this  combustion  should 
be  largely  recovered  in  the  dissociation  of  more  water  vapor,  and, 
therefore,  does  not  represent  as  much  loss  as  it  would  indicate.  As 
a  conveyor  of  energy,  this  gas  has  the  advantage  of  carrying  4.46 
pounds  less  nitrogen  than  would  be  present  if  the  fourth  pound  of 
coal  was  gasified  with  air ;  and  in  practical  working  the  use  of  steam 
reduces  the  amount  of  clinkering  in  the  producer. 

Anthracite  Gas. — In  considering  the  gasification  of  anthracite 
coal,  we  find  in  it  a  volatile  combustible,  varying  in  quantity  from 
1.5  to  over  7  per  cent.,  and  while  its  flame  resembles  that  of  hydro¬ 
gen,  the  amount  of  marsh  gas  found  in  anthracite  producer  gas  cor¬ 
responds  practically  with  the  total  volatile  hydrocarbons  in  the  coal. 
If  this  is  correct,  all  the  hydrogen  in  the  gas  is  derived  from  the 
dissociation  of  water-vapor;  but  this,  as  previously  shown,  is  in 
practice  higher  than  the  theoretical  quantity.  We  generally  find 
1.5  per  cent,  or  more  of  marsh  gas  in  anthracite  gas  made  from  coal 
containing  about  5  per  cent,  of  volatile  combustible,  and  this  propor¬ 
tion  is  about  what  should  be  expected  if  all  the  volatile  combustible 
in  the  coal  is  marsh  gas.  But  if  it  is  not,  it  is  difficult  to  explain  the 
presence  of  the  marsh  gas  and  the  excess  of  hydrogen  in  the  pro¬ 
ducer  gas.  If  the  percentage  of  carbon  dioxide  were  high  and  the 
resulting  excess  of  heat  were  expended  in  an  increased  dissociation 
of  steam,  that  would  account  for  the  hydrogen ;  but  with  low  carbon 
dioxide,  and  all  the  volatile  combustible  represented  by  marsh  gas  in 
the  producer  product,  it  is  difficult  to  account  for  all  the  hydrogen  in 
the  face  of  our  assumption  that  we  cannot  gasify  with  steam  more 
than  one-quarter  of  the  carbon. 

If  we  felt  confident  that  solid  carbon  and  marsh  gas  were  the 
only  combustibles  to  be  considered  in  anthracite,  it  would  be  easy  to 


*  Calorific  power  of  carbon. 


R.  D.  Wood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia . 


61 


calculate  from  an  analysis  of  producer  gas  the  amount  of  energy 
derived  from  the  coal,  as  is  shown  in  the  following  theoretical  gasi¬ 
fication  made  of  coal  with  assumed  composition :  Carbon,  85  per 
cent.;  vol.  hydrocarbons,  5  per  cent.;  ash,  10  per  cent.;  80  pounds 
carbon  assumed  to  be  burned  to  carbon  monoxide ;  5  pounds  carbon 
burned  to  carbon  dioxide ;  three-fourths  of  the  necessary  oxygen 
derived  from  air,  and  one-fourth  from  water. 


Process. 

Products. 

Pounds. 

Cubic  Feet. 

Anal,  by  Vol. 

80  lbs.  C  burned  to . CO 

186.66 

2529.24 

33-4 

5  lbs.  C  burned  to . CO 

18.33 

I57-64 

2.0 

5  lbs.  vol.  HC  (distilled) . 

5.00 

1 1 6. 60 

1.6 

120  lbs.  Oxygen  are  required,  of 

which  30  lbs.  from  H20  liber- 

ate . H 

3*75 

712.50 

9-4 

90  lbs.  from  air  are  associated 

with . N 

301-05 

4064. 1 7 

53-6 

514-79 

7580.15 

100.0 

Energy  in  the  above  gas  obtained  from  100  pounds  anthracite: 


186.66  pounds  CO .  807,304  heat-units. 

5.00  “  CH4 .  117,500  “ 

3-75  “  H  .  232.500 


1,157,304 

Total  energy  in  gas  per  pound .  2,248  “ 

“  “  “  “  cubic  foot  .  152.7  “ 

“  100  pounds  of  coal .  1, 349, 500  “ 

Efficiency  of  the  conversion . 86  per  cent. 


It  will  be  noticed  that  1.6  per  cent,  of  marsh  gas  represents  all 
the  volatile  combustible  in  the  coal,  and  that  86  per  cent,  of  the  total 
energy  is  delivered  in  the  gas ;  but  the  sum  of  carbon  monoxide  and 
hydrogen  exceeds  the  results  obtained  in  practice.  The  sensible 
heat  of  the  gas  will  probably  account  for  this  discrepancy,  and  it  is 
quite  safe  to  assume  the  possibility  of  delivering  at  least  82  per  cent, 
of  the  energy  of  anthracite. 

To  illustrate  the  loss  caused  by  forming  carbon  dioxide  in  the 
producer,  when  none  of  the  heat  of  primary  combustion  is  used  for 
dissociating  water,  the  following  theoretical  gasifications  of  carbon 
are  adduced,  showing  the  resulting  gases,  in  which  o,  5,  10,  15,  25, 
and  50  per  cent,  of  carbon  are  successively  burned  to  carbon  dioxide, 
and  giving  the  percentage  of  energy  delivered  in  each  case,  without 
considering  the  increasing  proportion  of  nitrogen  as  a  factor  in  re¬ 
ducing  the  energy-ratio  of  the  poorer  gases. 


62 


R.  D.  IVood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia . 


100  Lbs.  C,  Gasified 
with  Air. 

Pounds  of  C  Burned  to 

co2. 

Products. 

.... 

0 

5 

10 

15 

25 

50 

CO  per  cent . 

34-4 

3r-5 

29-5 

26.6 

22.7 

12.9 

C02  “  . 

1.6 

3-2 

4.6 

7.6 

12.9 

N  “  . 

65.6 

66.9 

67-3 

68.8 

69.7 

74.2 

Pounds  of  gas . 

679 

708 

737 

766 

824 

969 

Cubic  feet  of  gas . 

9183 

9468 

9759 

10,065 

10,387 

12, 189 

Per  cent,  of  carbon  en- 

ergy  in  gas . 

Heat  units  per  cubic  foot 

70 

66 

63 

59 

52 

35 

of  gas . 

109.7 

100.5 

94.1 

85.8 

72.04 

41. 1 

But  the  formation  of  carbon  dioxide  in  the  producer  is  objec¬ 
tionable,  not  only  when  the  heat  of  its  combustion  is  lost,  but  even 
when  a  large  portion  of  this  heat  is  recovered  by  dissociating  water. 
A  theoretical  gasification,  in  which  ioo  pounds  of  carbon  are  com¬ 
pletely  burned  to  carbon  dioxide,  and  70  per  cent,  of  the  resulting 
heat  of  combustion  (1,450,000  heat-units),  is  assumed  to  be  recov¬ 
ered  by  dissociating  water,  is  illustrated  in  the  following  table : 


Process. 

Products. 

Pounds. 

Feet. 

Per  Cent,  by  Vol. 
(Approximate.) 

ioo  lbs.  C  burned  to . C02 

366.66 

3153 

25 

70  per  cent,  of  1,450,000  heat-units 
is  1,015,000  units ;  which  liberate 
from  water . H 

16.34 

3110 

25 

130.96  lbs.  0,  liberated  from  this  water, 
combines  with  49.2  lbs.  C  to  form 
C02.  This  leaves  50.8  lbs.  C  to 
combine  with  135. 13  lbs.  atmospheric 
0,  which  is  associated  with . N 

453 

6115 

50 

836 

12,378 

IOO 

R.  D.  Wood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


63 


Here  we  have  only  25  per  cent,  of  combustible  hydrogen,  rep¬ 
resenting  70  per  cent,  of  the  carbon  energy,  in  836  pounds,  or 
12,378  cubic  feet  of  gas ;  the  latter  is,  therefore,  of  poor  quality,  and 
compares  very  unfavorably  with  the  70  per  cent,  conversion  of  the 
all-monoxide  gas  in  the  preceding  table,  where  34.4  per  cent,  of 
combustible  (carbon  monoxide)  are  found  in  679  pounds,  or  9,138 
cubic  feet  of  gas.  It  follows  that  whenever  carbon  dioxide  is 
formed  and  its  heat  used  for  dissociating  water,  there  is  at  best  but 
a  poor  utilization  of  the  energy.  Probably  all  that  can  be  recovered 
in  this  way  does  not  exceed  one-half  of  what  may  be  obtained  from 
carbon  burned  to  carbon  monoxide.  But  in  special  cases  where 
practically  all  the  sensible  heat  of  the  gas  is  utilized  in  a  non-regen- 
erative  furnace  or  kiln,  where  mechanical  difficulties  effectually 
prevent  good  combustion,  a  very  hot  gas,  containing  7  to  9  per  cent, 
of  carbon  dioxide  is  found  to  be  preferable  to  a  cold  gas  low  in  car¬ 
bon  dioxide. 

Bituminous  Gas. — This  gas  differs  from  that  made  from  an¬ 
thracite,  in  containing  a  much  larger  percentage  of  hydrocarbons. 
It  consequently  has  greater  calorific  energy  and  also  much  more 
luminosity.  This  latter  quality  gives  it  special  value  in  high-tem¬ 
perature  work,  according  to  the  latest  theories  of  combustion.  To 
utilize  these  hydrocarbons  the  gas  must  be  kept  at  a  temperature 
that  will  prevent  their  condensation.  At  the  same  time  it  must  be 
borne  in  mind  that  a  very  high  temperature  will  break  down  the 
hydrocarbons,  and  cause  the  deposition  of  soot. 

In  collecting  a  sample  of  gas  for  analysis,  it  is  cooled  to  the 
temperature  of  the  atmosphere,  and  the  hydrocarbons  are  almost  all 
condensed.  This  accounts  for  the  fact  that  while  the  gas  from 
bituminous  coal  may  be  doing  50  per  cent,  more  work  than  the  gas 
from  the  same  amount  of  anthracite,  yet  their  analysis  will  not  differ 
materially,  as  shown  in  the  following 


TABLE  OF  AVERAGE  GAS  ANALYSIS,  BY  VOLUME. 


Constituents. 

European. 

American. 

Siemens  Gas. 

Anthracite  Gas. 

Soft  Coal  Gas. 

CO 

23-7 

27.O 

27.0 

H 

8.0 

12.0 

12.0 

ch4 

2.2 

1.2 

2-5 

C02 

4.1 

2-5 

2.0 

N 

62.0 

57-3 

56.5 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

64 


R.  D.  IVood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia . 


When  soft  coal  gas  is  passed  through  the  cooling  tube  of  the 
old  Siemens  producer,  or  through  long  unlined  flues,  the  hydrocar¬ 
bons  are  condensed,  and  the  gas  really  has  the  composition  as  shown 
in  the  preceding  analysis.  A  comparison  of  these  analyses  with  the 
hypothetical  one  given  below,  in  which  none  of  the  hydrocarbons 
are  lost,  shows  the  importance  of  preventing  their  condensation  as 
far  as  possible. 

To  examine  more  closely  into  the  conversion  of  bituminous 
C3al,  a  theoretical  gasification  of  ioo  pounds  of  coal,  containing  55 
per  cent,  of  carbon  and  32  per  cent,  of  volatile  combustible  (which  is 
about  the  average  of  Pittsburg  coal),  is  made  in  the  following  table. 
It  is  assumed  that  50  pounds  of  carbon  are  burned  to  carbon  mon¬ 
oxide  and  5  pounds  to  carbon  dioxide ;  one-fourth  of  the  oxygen  is 
derived  from  steam  and  three-fourths  from  air ;  volatile  combustible 
is  taken  at  20,000  heat-units  to  the  pound,  probably  a  safe  assump¬ 
tion,  notwithstanding  that  a  high  authority  puts  it  at  18,000.  In 
computing  volumetric  proportions,  all  the  volatile  hydrocarbons, 
fixed  as  well  as  condensing,  are  classed  as  marsh  gas,  since  it  is 
only  by  some  such  tentative  assumption  that  even  an  approximate 
idea  of  the  volumetric  composition  can  be  formed.  The  energy, 
however,  is  calculated  from  weight,  and  is  strictly  correct : 


GASIFICATION  OF  BITUMINOUS  COAL. 


Process. 

Products. 

Pounds. 

Cubic 

Feet 

Per  Cent, 
by  Vol. 

50  lbs.  C  burned  to . 

. CO 

116.66 

1580.7 

00 

iV 

5  lbs.  C  burned  to . 

O 

U 

33 

157-6 

2.7 

32  lbs.  vol.  HC  (distilled) . 

32.00 

746.2 

13.2 

80  lbs.  0  are  required,  of  which 

20  lbs.,  de- 

rived  from  H20,  liberate . 

. H 

2.5 

475-0 

8-3 

60  lbs.  0,  derived  from  air,  are  associated 

wTith . 

. N 

200. 70 

2709.4 

00 

370.19 

5668.9 

99.8 

R.  D.  Wood  Sr  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


65 


Energy  in  116.56  lbs.  CO .  504, 554  heat-units. 

32.00  lbs.  Vol.  HC .  640,000  “ 

2.50  lbs.  H  .  155,000  “ 


i,m554 

Energy  in  coal  .  1,437,500 

Per  cent,  of  energy  delivered  in  gas .  90.0 

Heat-units  in  one  pound  of  gas .  3,484 

cubic  foot  of  gas .  229.2 


When  these  figures  are  compared  with  the  theoretical  gasifica¬ 
tion  of  anthracite,  the  vastly  greater  energy,  both  by  weight  and 
volume,  in  the  bituminous  gas,  is  seen  at  once.  It  is  worth  even 
more  in  practice  than  appearance  indicates,  since  the  high  per¬ 
centage  of  hydrocarbons  is  associated  with  lower  nitrogen.  All  of 
the  32  per  cent,  of  volatile  combustible,  except  the  tarry  matter, 
must  be  volatilized  and  utilized  in  its  full  strength,  whether  it  be 
fixed  gas  or  simply  distilled  hydrocarbon.  For  this  purpose  it 
should  not  be  suffered  to  cool  below  300°  before  it  enters  the  com¬ 
bustion-chambers  or  regenerators ;  the  higher  its  temperature  at  the 
furnace  the  better. 

The  comparative  value  of  the  two  gases  in  high-temperature 
work  is  illustrated  by  the  fact  that  when  anthracite  gas  is  used  in 
regenerative  furnaces  for  heating  iron,  it  is  frequently  necessary  to 
gasify  in  the  producers  from  two  to  three  times  more  coal  per  ton 
of  iron  heated  than  when  bituminous  gas  is  used.  It  is  also  well 
known  that  the  rate  and  effectiveness  of  heating  rises  with  the  per¬ 
centage  of  volatile  combustible.  The  results  may  prove  that  it  can 
be  used  advantageously,  especially  when  supplemented  with  a  little 
oil,  which  could  be  introduced  into  the  furnace  about  where  the  air 
and  gas  unite,  and  thus  secure  a  luminous  hydrocarbon  flame.  Such 
use  of  oil  is  said  to  be  practiced  to  a  limited  extent  in  Europe,  as  a 
supplement  to  water  gas.  Broadly  speaking,  and  for  a  wide  field  of 
work,  the  quality  of  the  heating  that  has  been  done  with  anthracite 
gas  is  good.  The  comparison  with  bituminous  gas  is  not  always  as 
unfavorable  as  the  one  we  have  considered.  The  energy  of  the 
bituminous  gas  described  was  3,484  heat-units  per  pound,  as  against 
2,246  heat-units  for  the  anthracite;  but  most  bituminous  coals  are 
lower  in  volatile  combustible  and  higher  in  carbon  than  our  speci¬ 
men  coal.  Possibly  a  fair  average  would  be  70  per  cent,  of  fixed 
carbon  and  20  per  cent,  of  hydrocarbon  with  10  per  cent,  of  ash.  A 
theoretical  gasification  of  100  pounds  of  such  a  coal,  burning  5 


5. 


66 


R.  D.  PVood  &  Co Philadelphia. 


pounds  of  carbon  to  carbon  dioxide,  and  deriving  one-fourth  of  the 
oxygen  from  water  and  three-fourths  from  air  would  show  this 
result : 


Process. 

Products. 

Pounds. 

Cubic  Feet. 

Per  Cent, 
by  Vol. 

65  lbs.  C  burned  to . 

....CO 

I51-6 

2054 

30.8 

5  lbs.  C  burned  to . 

....C02 

18.3 

157 

2.3 

20  lbs.  vol.  HC  (distilled) . 

20.0 

466 

7.0 

25  lbs.  0,  from  water  liberate _ 

. H 

3-1 

588 

9.0 

75  lbs.  atmos.  0  mixed  with . 

. N 

251.2 

3391 

5°-9 

444.2 

6656 

100.0 

Calorific  energy  of  the  gas .  1,247,870  heat-units. 

“  “  “  per  pound .  2,809 

“  “  “  “  cubic  foot  ....  187.4 

“  “  “  coal  .  1,415,000 

Efficiency  of  the  conversion . 88  per  cent. 


Water  Gas  ♦ — There  is  much  more  literature  at  our  com¬ 
mand  on  water  gas  than  on  producer  gas.  It  is  made,  as  is  well 
known,  in  an  intermittent  process,  by  blowing  up  the  fuel  bed  of  the 
producer  with  air  to  a  high  state  of  incandescence  (and  in  some 
cases  utilizing  the  resulting  gas,  which  is  a  lean  producer  gas),  then 
shutting  off  the  air  and  forcing  steam  through  the  fire,  which  dis¬ 
sociates  the  steam  into  its  elements  of  oxygen  and  hydrogen,  the 
former  combining  with  the  carbon  of  the  coal,  and  the  latter  being 
liberated. 

This  gas  can  never  play  a  very  important  part  in  the  industrial 
field,  owing  to  the  large  loss  of  energy  entailed  in  its  production; 
yet  there  are  places  and  special  purposes  where  it  is  desirable,  even 
at  a  great  excess  in  cost  per  unit  of  heat  over  producer  gas;  for 
instance,  in  small,  high-temperature  furnaces,  where  much  regen¬ 
eration  is  impracticable,  or  where  the  “blow-up”  gas  can  be  used  for 
other  purposes  instead  of  being  wasted.  Some  steel  melting  has 
been  done  in  Europe  with  this  gas,  under  the  claim  that'  much  more 
work  can  be  gotten  out  of  a  furnace  in  a  given  time,  owing  to  the 
greater  energy  of  the  gas,  so  that  the  extra  cost  is  more  than  bal¬ 
anced.  The  lack  of  luminosity  (hydrocarbon  flame)  in  water  gas 
makes  this  doubtful,  unless  some  oil  is  introduced  into  the  furnace, 
as  before  described. 


R.  D.  Wood  &*  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


6  7 


We  will  now  consider  the  reactions  and  the  energy  required  in 
the  production  of  1000  feet  of  water  gas,  which  is  composed,  theo¬ 
retically,  of  equal  volumes  of  carbon  monoxide  and  hydrogen. 

Pounds. 


500  cubic  feet  of  H  weigh .  2.635 

500  cubic  feet  of  CO  weigh .  36.89 

Total  weight  of  1000  cubic  feet .  39-525  ♦ 


Now,  as  carbon  monoxide  is  composed  of  12  parts  carbon  to 
16  of  oxygen,  the  weight  of  carbon  in  36.89  pounds  of  the  gas  is 
15.81  pounds  and  of  oxygen  21.08  pounds.  When  this  oxygen  is 
derived  from  water  (steam)  it  liberates,  as  above,  2.635  pounds  of 
hydrogen.  The  heat  developed  and  absorbed  in  these  reactions 
(disregarding  the  energy  required  to  elevate  the  coal  from  the  tem¬ 
perature  of  the  atmosphere  to  say  1800°)  is  as  follows: 

Heat-units. 

2.635  pounds  H  absorb  in  dissociation  from  water  2.635 


X  62,000  . =163,370 

15.81  pounds  C  burned  to  CO  develop  15.81  X  4400 . =  69,564 

Excess  of  heat-absorption  over  heat-development. .  .=  93,806 


The  loss  due  to  this  absorption  must  be  made  up  in  some  way 
or  other. 

6.47  pounds  of  carbon  burnt  to  carbon  dioxide  would  supply 
this  heat,  theoretically,  but  in  practice,  owing  to  the  imperfect  and 
indirect  combustion  and  radiation,  more  than  double  this  amount  is 
required.  Besides  this,  it  is  not  often  that  the  sum.  of  the  carbon 
monoxide  and  hydrogen  exceed  90  per  cent.,  the  remainder  being 
carbon  dioxide  and  nitrogen. 

Fuel  Oil  » — The  average  yearly  production  of  petroleum  be¬ 
tween  1880  and  1890  in  this  country  was  about  24,165,920  barrels, 
equal  to  3,310,400  tons,  against  150,000,000  tons  of  coal  mined  in 
1889.  Now,  as  the  energy  of  oil  is  practically  50  per  cent,  more  than 
that  of  coal,  if  all  the  oil  taken  from  the  ground  for  the  year  1888 
had  been  used  for  fuel,  it  would  have  displaced  on  this  basis  4,965,- 
600  tons  of  coal  only ;  but  assuming  that  oil  could  deliver  in  prac¬ 
tice  double  the  energy  of  coal,  it  could  then  displace  only  6,620,800 
tons,  and  we  would  still  require  143,379,200  tons  for  heat.  So  that 


68 


R.  D.  IVood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


oil  cannot  play  an  important  part  in  supplying  our  heat-require¬ 
ments.  The  natural  gas  used  in  1889,  it  is  estimated,  contained 
energy  equivalent  to  from  12,000,000  to  15,000,000  tons  of  coal,  or 
more  than  twice  the  energy  of  the  oil-producing  of  the  country  for 
the  same  time.  But,  as  before  stated,  oil  contains  so  much  more 
energy,  particularly  in  proportion  to  its  volume,  than  any  other 
available  fuel,  that  it  is  a  valuable  heating  agent  in  some  special  and 
high-temperature  furnaces. 

Common  crude  petroleum  is  composed  of  about  84  parts  carbon 
and  14  parts  hydrogen;  the  balance  (2  parts)  being  earthy  matter. 
Hence  the  energy  per  pound  is  approximately : — 


C  to  CO2 . 84  X  14,500=  12,180 

H  to  H2O . 14  X  62,000=  8,680 

20,860 


or  44  per  cent,  more  than  that  of  a  pound  of  good  coal,  which, 
owing  to  the  hydrocarbons  in  it,  usually  carries  the  energy  up  to 
what  it  would  be  if  it  were  pure  carbon,  and  in  some  cases  more. 
Oil  can  be  burned  with  less  relative  waste  than  coal,  but  the  best 
evaporation  with  oil  in  practice  has  never  exceeded  coal  by  more 
than  about  50  per  cent.  The  barrel  of  petroleum  of  commerce  is  42 
gallons,  weighing  6J  pounds  per  gallon. 

Fuel  Utilization  .—Gas  Furnaces* — Producer  gas  being  so 

low  in  caloric  energy,  cannot  be  used  to  advantage  in  high-tempera¬ 
ture  furnaces,  witnout  at  least  pre-heating  the  air  for  combustion. 
When  both  air  and  gas  are  properly  pre-heated,  as  in  the  best  re¬ 
generative  furnaces,  a  very  high  economy  can  be  obtained,  and  only 
a  half  or  a  third  as  much  fuel  is  required  to  do  a  given  amount  of 
work  as  when  the  coal  is  burned  direct. 

The  essentials  for  the  economical  heating  of  a  high-temperature 
furnace  are,  a  good  quality  of  gas  (preferably  rich  in  hydrocar¬ 
bons),  properly  mixed  with  just  the  right  amount  of  air,  both  hav¬ 
ing  been  heated  to  as  high  a  temperature  as  possible.  The  amount 
of  air  required  is  dependent  upon  the  temperatures  of  gas  and  air. 
The  proper  mixing  of  the  gas  and  air  is  very  important.  To  obtain 
the  best  results,  the  mixture  should  be  as  rapid  and  intimate  as 
possible,  thus  causing  a  high  temperature  in  the  shortest  time  after 
the  air  and  gas  come  together.  It  is  also  important  that  the  furnace 
should  be  of  the  proper  shape  and  proportions,  so  as  to  utilize  the 
heat  generated  to  the  best  advantage. 


R.  D.  Wood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


69 


The  modern  practice  of  heating  by  radiation  instead  of  by  con¬ 
tact  is  undoubtedly  right ;  hence  the  high  roof  of  the  so-called  re¬ 
generative  gas  furnaces,  and  the  large  volume  of  luminous  gas  with 
its  powerful  radiating  properties  over  the  bed  of  iron  or  other 
material  to  be  heated.  It  is  certainly  a  fact  that  we  require  a  very 
much  greater  volume  of  non-luminous  gas  than  we  do  of  luminous 
gas  to  do  a  given  amount  of  heating  at  high  temperatures. 

In  many  works  we  find  the  waste  heat  from  the  furnace  used  in 
making  steam,  and  this  plan  is  advocated  by  some  high  authorities. 
But,  if  there  were  no  other  objections  to  it,  the  waste  heat  from  the 
furnace  heating  iron  for  instance,  would  be  very  much  more  than  is 
necessary  for  furnishing  the  power  to  roll  the  product.  For  this 
reason  alone  it  is  better  to  recover  the  waste  heat  and  return  it  to 
the  furnace,  generating  steam  in  a  separate  apparatus  as  required ; 
for  it  will  be  impossible  to  arrange  any  works  so  as  to  utilize  all  the 
waste  heat  direct  from  furnaces. 

Regenerative  furnaces  have  been  much  improved  of  late  years 
by  making  the  roofs  higher  and  working  on  the  radiating  principle. 
Maximum  economies  can  only  be  obtained  from  these  furnaces, 
however,  by  running  them  continuously,  say  for  a  week  at  a  time, 
as  it  takes  a  large  expenditure  of  energy  to  heat  them  up  when  they 
are  once  allowed  to  cool. 

In  many  cases,  where  a  very  high  temperature  is  not  required, 
producer  gas  can  be  used  with  considerable  economy  over  direct 
firing,  by  pre-heating  the  air  only,  up  to  a  temperature  of  500°  or 
6oo°  in  “continuous  regenerators.”  These  are  usually  composed 
of  iron  pipes,  through  which  the  air  is  blown  or  drawn,  and  which 
are  heated  from  the  outside  by  the  waste  gases  from  the  furnace. 
While  these  do  not  give  as  great  economy  as  the  alternating  brick 
regenerators,  they  are  much  less  expensive  and  troublesome  to 
operate.  Of  course  they  cannot  be  used  when  the  temperature  of 
the  escaping  gases  is  high  enough  to  destroy  iron  pipes.  Terra 
cotta  pipes  and  fire  brick  flues  have  been  used  in  place  of  iron  pipes 
for  continuous  regenerators,  but  they  do  not  conduct  heat  well,  and 
are  very  liable  to  crack. 

Although  regeneration  should  always  be  employed  when  prac¬ 
ticable,  especially  where  the  waste  gases  escape  at  a  high  tempera¬ 
ture,  in  many  kilns  and  furnaces,  when  the  temperature  required  is 
not  very  high,  producer  gas  may  be  used  with  marked  economy 
without  regeneration.  This  economy  is  principally  due  to  the  better 


* 


R.  D.  Wood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia 


/  : 

.  l..'i  j 

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'  .  _ _ 

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i l 

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It  1 .  r~ 

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ft  •  J  ^ 

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GAS-FIRED  LIME  KILN, 


R.  D.  Wood  Sr  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


7 1 


facilities  for  perfect  combustion,  the  fact  that  less  air  is  necessary, 
the  saving  of  coal  from  the  ashes,  and  especially  where  the  producer 
is  fed  automatically  and  continuously  the  improved  and  uniform 
quality  of  the  gas  and  consequent  great  regularity  of  the  heat 
obtained.  Besides  these,  the  absence  of  dust,  the  smaller  amount  of 
labor  required,  and  the  substitution  of  a  cheap  for  an  expensive 
fuel,  are  often  important  points.  But  producer  gas  cannot  be 
burned  satisfactorily  in  very  small  quantities,  where  both  gas  and 
air  are  cold.  The  flame  is  very  easily  extinguished,  and  even  a  low 
red  heat  is  reached  with  difficulty. 

In  Europe  producer  gas  has  been  applied  much  more  generally 
than  in  this  country.  We  have  become  thoroughly  familiar  with  its 
use,  in  the  heating  furnaces  of  our  iron  and  steel  mills,  but  it  is  fast 
working  its  way  into  other  industries,  such  as  glass  furnaces,  brick, 
pottery,  and  terra  cotta  kilns,  lime  and  cement  kilns,  sugar  house 
char-kilns,  silver-chlorination  and  ore-roasting  furnaces,  for  power 
purposes  in  gas  engines,  etc.  The  introduction  of  producer  gas 
has  conclusively  shown  that  when  made  in  a  good  producer  and 
applied  .with  a  proper  attention  to  the  laws  governing  combustion, 
a  considerable  saving  is  effected  over  the  former  wasteful  methods. 

Lime  Kiln,  Producer-Gas  Fired*— The  preceding  cut  is  a 
general  elevation  of  a  lime  kiln,  with  a  design  of  internal  lines  and 
detail  which  has  operated  very  successfully  with  our  type  of  gas 
producer. 

Compared  to  the  ordinary  kiln,  where  the  fuel  and  stone  are 
charged  in  alternative  layers,  the  gas-fired  avoids  contamination  of 
the  lime  by  the  foreign  matter  of  the  ash. 

With  no  ash,  the  clinkering  and  irregularities  of  operation  re¬ 
sulting  from  its  fusion  with  the  lime  are  absent,  and  the  labor  of 
attendance  is  reduced  with  an  improved  quality  of  product. 

In  the  ordinary  kiln,  if  combustion  should  chance  to  be  com¬ 
plete  at  the  lower  stratum  of  fuel  the  carbonic  acid  resulting  is 
converted  to  combustible  carbon  monoxide  in  passing  through  the 
upper  incandescent  layers.  Thus  a  large  loss  occurs  by  combustible 
escaping  in  the  waste  gases.  To  carry  the  fire  nearly  to  the  top 
of  the  kiln  in  an  effort  to  reduce  the  amount  of  carbon  monoxide 
escaping  and  save  fuel  is  not  an  efficient  remedy,  for  then  the  gases 
escape  at  such  a  high  temperature  that  a  large  loss  of  fuel  is  repre¬ 
sented  in  their  sensible  heat. 


72 


R.  D.  Wood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


In  a  gas-fired  kiln  the  intensely  hot  products  of  a  complete 
combustion  ascending  freely,  circulate  through  the  mass  of  stone 
to  which  they  impart  their  heat  and  escape  at  a  much  lower  tem¬ 
perature.  The  descending  stone  returns  this  heat  to  the  hearth,  and 
that  in  the  burnt  stone  may  be  utilized  by  preheating  the  air  used 
for  combustion,  discharging  the  lime  cold. 

The  operation  of  the  producer  and  kiln  is  easy  and  regular  to 
such  an  extent  that  the  carbonic  acid  escaping  in  the  gases  may  be 
maintained  almost  constant.  The  calcination  is  perfect  and  the  lime 
pure.  The  kilns  may  be  open  top  or  arranged  to  collect  the  waste 
gases  for  recovery  of  the  carbonic  acid. 

The  fuel  consumption  is,  of  course,  dependent  on  the  kind  of 
limestone  treated,  but  an  economy  in  fuel  of  50  per  cent,  is  fre¬ 
quently  attained  compared  with  current  practice. 

The  regularity  of  operation  and  maintenance  of  uniform  pres¬ 
sure  by  the  facility  of  maintaining  a  uniform  bed  in  the  Taylor 
Producer,  has  shown  this  type  to  be  especially  adapted  for  this 
exacting  service.  Producer  capacity  should  be  ample,  and  the 
operation  proceeds  continuously  with  the  drawing  of  lime  at  the 
base  and  proportionate  feeding  at  the  top. 

While  any  kind  of  fuel  may  be  employed,  the  use  of  charcoal, 
coke  or  anthracite  will  avoid  the  necessary  burning  out  of  flues 
where  soft  coal  is  employed. 


Ore  Roasting* — The  use  of  ordinary  producer  gas  for  this 
operation  has  been  of  slow  growth,  for  while  the  possible  econo¬ 
mies  were  inviting,  it  had  the  same  element  of  risk  which  attaches 
to  every  new  application.  This  is  not  a  new  experience,  the 
history  of  metallurgy  recording  it  in  the  inception  of  many  at¬ 
tempts  to  establish  methods  which  to-day  are  yielding  large  re¬ 
turn. 

The  success  of  our  Producers  in  this  field  was  demonstrated 
several  years  ago,  and  recently  there  has  been  renewed  interest  in 
this  direction. 

It  is  gratifying  to  record,  therefore,  our  recent  installation  of 
such  a  plant  for  a  large  reduction  company,  under  whose  manage¬ 
ment  the  plant  is  giving  very  satisfactory  results.  The  gas  is 
serving  a  series  of  roasters,  including  designs  of  the  Ropp  Straight 


R.  D.  Wood  £r  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


73 


Line,  Pearce  and  Holtoff-Wethey  types.  The  producers  are  equip¬ 
ped  with  the  Bildt  automatic  feed  and  jare  readily  gasifying  in 
twenty-four  hours  nine  to  ten  tons  each  of  a  Colorado  coal.  Such 
installations  pay  15  to  40  per  cent,  on  the  investment. 


Forge  Work. — Small  furnaces  for  this  industry  have  been 
operated  for  some  time  on  fuel  oil  or  gases  more  expensive  than 
ordinary  producer  gas.  Because  of  its  lower  heating  value  and 
consequent  necessary  large  volume,  difficulties  exist  in  its  appli¬ 
cation.  The  system  is,  however,  in  successful  service  wth  large 
economy  over  oil  or  other  methods  of  firing.  The  gas  serves  heat¬ 
ing  furnaces  for  bending,  heading,  bolt  and  rivet  machines  and  a 
variety  of  miscellaneous  work.  The  hearths  of  some  of  the  furnaces 
are  not  more  than  15  inches  by  18  inches  by  3  feet  long,  and  furnish 
a  continuous  supply  of  material  to  the  machines,  economizing 
labor  and  increasing  output.  Soft  coal  is  used  and  the  system 
works  satisfactorily  with  absence  of  the  smoke  and  dirt  of  ordinary 
coal  fires,  and  giving  the  highest  temperatures  required  for  work 
of  this  character. 

We  are  also  satisfied  that  by  simple  expedient  the  use  of 
gas  from  anthracite  coal  or  coke  may  be  utilized  with  considerable 
fuel  economy  and  the  absence  of  the  annoyances  attending  coal 
fires. 


Cement  Burning* — The  process  of  burning  in  rotary  kilns 
offers  easy  adaptability  of  gas  firing  to  such  furnaces.  The  applica¬ 
tion  gives  a  well-burnt  clinker,  with  economical  use  of  fuel,  centra¬ 
lizes  coal  and  ash  handling,  gives  an  operation  of  easy  and  complete 
control,  avoids  the  use  of  elaborate  and  expensive  pulverizing 
plants,  avoids  the  danger  of  spontaneous  combustion,  fire  and  dis¬ 
astrous  explosion,  and  costs  less  to  install  and  to  operate  in  labor, 
repairs  and  power. 

Boiler  Firing* — There  is  no  heating  process  where  more  of 
the  energy  is  made  available  than  in  the  evaporation  of  water  in  a 
good  boiler.  Fifteen  pounds  of  water  evaporated  from  and  at  2120 
(to  steam  at  atmospheric  pressure)  is  the  theoretical  limit  for  one 
pound  of  good  coal,  equal  to  pure  carbon. 


74 


R.  D.  Wood  &  Co Philadelphia. 


To  evaporate,  in  direct  firing,  io  pounds  of  water  from  i  pound 
of  coal  is  not  unusual  in  practice,  and  n  or  12  pounds  under  excep¬ 
tionally  favorable  circumstances  is  not  entirely  beyond  our  reach. 
Twelve  pounds  would  be  the  utilization  of  80  per  cent.,  and  10 
pounds,  66f  per  cent,  of  the  energy  of  the  fuel.  Compare  this  with 
the  firing  of  an  iron  puddling-furnace,  which  in  old-fashioned  prac¬ 
tice  is  estimated  to  utilize  about  3  per  cent,  of  the  energy,  and  we 
have  a  fair  comparison  of  the  two  extremes.  In  one  case,  the  hot 
combustion-products  are  sent  to  a  chimney  at  practically  the  same 
temperature  as  the  furnace  (which  is  high),  and  in  the  other  they 
are  discharged  at  a  comparatively  low  temperature.  That  is,  if  the 
temperature  of  the  combustion-chamber  is  2000,  and  that  of  the 
smoke-stack  500,  just  75  per  cent,  of  the  energy  of  the  fuel  has  been 
utilized,  provided  the  combustion  is  perfect  without  the  introduction 
of  any  excess  of  air.  This  is  impossible  in  practice  as  yet. 

It  is  a  great  mistake  to  suppose  that  slow  combustion  under  a 
boiler  and  a  consequent  low  temperature  is  economical ;  for  the 
greater  the  difference  of  temperature  between  the  fire  box  and 
chimney,  consistent  with  complete  combustion,  the  greater,  of 
course,  is  the  utilization  of  heat.  To  further  illustrate  this,  if  the 
temperature  of  combustion  could  be  increased  from  2000°  to  4000° 
without  increasing  the  temperature  of  the  chimney  gases  above 
500°,  only  one-eighth  of  the  energy  would  be  lost,  instead  of  one- 
quarter  ;  and  again,  if  the  fire  box  were  iooo°  and  the  chimney  500°, 
the  loss  would  be  one-half.  The  three  points  to  be  striven  after, 
then  (for  the  best  utilization  of  fuel-energy  under  boilers),  are: 
First,  perfect  combustion;  second,  the  use  of  the  least  possible 
excess  of  air ;  and  third,  to  maintain  the  greatest  possible  difference 
in  temperature  between  the  fire  box  and  chimney. 

More  or  less  experimenting  has  been  done  in  Europe  and  in 
this  country  in  firing  boilers  with  gas  made  from  bituminous  coal, 
with  quite  satisfactory  results ;  and  even  greater  efficiency  is  hoped 
for  from  a  more  careful  application  of  the  gas  and  possibly  by  the 
use  of  water- jacketed  producers,  which  serve  as  feed-water  heaters. 
Good  results  have  also  been  obtained  in  firing  boilers  with  producer 
gas  made  from  anthracite  coal,  but  naturally  the  results  are  not  as 
favorable  as  with  bituminous  coal. 

Here,  again,  the  problem  is  one  which  varies  with  the  general 
conditions  which  surround  each  installation.  Where  the  location 
will  admit  of  it,  and  anthracite  coal  or  a  good  quality  of  coke  are 


I 


R.  D.  IVood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia . 


75 


available,  the  gas  engine  driven  by  producer  gas  affords  by  far  the 
cheapest  power.  (See  page  79*)  This  practically  means  the  elimi¬ 
nation  of  the  boilers.  On  the  other  hand,  large  boiler  plants  of  good 
design,  using  anthracite  coal,  and  equipped  with  approved  stoking 
devices,  show  as  low  fuel  consumption  as  would  be  possible  on  the 
same  boilers  with  anthracite  producer  gas,  used  for  boiler  firing 
only ;  though  the  duty  thus  secured  through  these  boilers  and  a 
modern  steam  engine  would  be  by  far  less  than  that  attainable  from 
a  producer-gas-engine  installation  of  the  same  horse  power.  This 
results  in  part  from  the  fact  that,  in  using  the  gas  in  the  gas  engine, 
there  is  one  less  conversion. 

A  considerable  saving  may  be  secured  by  firing  efficient  boilers 
with  producer  gas  made  from  bituminous  coal  in  a  good  producer 
when  properly  applied ;  and  this  economy  may  be  further  augmented 
where  producer  gas  is  also  required  for  gas-fired  furnaces  and  other 
purposes ;  and  here  producer  gas  from  anthracite  may  sometimes  be 
advantageously  used. 

Considered  alone,  the  principal  gain  over  direct  firing  with 
bituminous  producer  gas  results  from  the  more  perfect  combustion 
of  the  volatile  hydrocarbons,  with  but  little  more  than  the  theoreti¬ 
cal  amount  of  air.  This  prevents  smoke,  and  saves  the  fuel  other¬ 
wise  used  in  heating  a  large  amount  of  useless  air.  As  the  fire 
door  is  kept  closed,  the  inrush  of  cold  air  incident  to  direct  firing, 
which  cools  the  gases  as  well,  is  avoided,  and  the  life  of  the  boilers 
prolonged,  while  the  evenly  maintained  high  temperature  results  in 
an  increased  steaming  capacity ;  and  there  is  a  further  saving  of  fuel 
ordinarily  wasted  through  the  grates.  Where  the  gas  is  also  re¬ 
quired  for  firing  furnaces,  etc.,  it  is  possible  to  secure  a  further 
economy  through  the  concentration  and  handling  of  the  fuel  and 
ash,  etc.  (see  page  48),  and  resultant  decreased  attendance.  The 
economy  thus  secured  in  producer  gas-fired  boilers  is,  of  course, 
greater  when  compared  with  hand-fired  than  with  stoker-equipped 
boilers.  The  latter,  as  in  producer  gas-firing,  almost  eliminate  the 
variable  factor  of  the  fireman.  Against  the  saving  by  gas-firing 
must  be  charged  the  loss  by  radiation  from  the  producer,  and  the 
energy  necessary  for  blowing  it,  amounting  to  3  to  5  per  cent,  of 
the  energy  developed.  In  an  article*  on  this  subject,  Mr.  Blauvelt, 
the  well-known  fuel  engineer,  points  out  that  while  solid  fuel  has 
the  advantage  of  the  radiant  heat  from  the  fuel  bed  while  in  an  in- 


*  “Producer  Gas  for  Steam  Raising,”  byW.  H.  Blauvelt,  Cassier’s  Magazine ,  December,  1894. 


7  6 


R.  D.  PVood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


candescent  state,  what  this  amounts  to,  or  its  comparative  value,  is 
not  known ;  that  while  it  is  true  more  evaporation  per  square  foot 
of  surface  can  be  obtained  by  a  coal  fire  with  a  sufficiently  strong 
draft  than  with  gas,  it  is  secured  at  a  largely  increased  fuel  con¬ 
sumption  in  proportion  to  the  duty  obtained ;  that  notwithstanding 
this  undetermined  value  of  the  radiant  heat  from  the  solid  fuel, 
numerous  practical  tests  show  the  economy  to  be  in  favor  of  the  gas, 
which  is  a  proof  more  satisfactory  to  the  steam  user  than  elaborate 
thermal  calculations. 

It  is  therefore  evident  that  under  certain  conditions  an  econ¬ 
omy  results  from  using  producer  gas  in  firing  boilers,  and  that  the 
gain  is  more  or  less  according  to  the  surroundings,  size  of  the 
plant,  character  of  the  boilers,  fuel,  etc.  Under  favorable  conditions, 
producer  gas-firing  secures  more  duty  per  pound  of  coal,  insures  a 
higher  average  of  good  work,  more  regular  steaming,  and  tends  to 
prolong  the  life  of  the  boilers,  with  a  lessened  cost  of  maintenance* 

It  is  obvious  that  a  proper  application  of  the  gas  to  the  boilers 
has  much  to  do  with  the  success  of  a  plant.  In  the  article  referred 
tc  above,  Mr.  Blauvelt  refers  to  this  application  of  the  gas,  and  to 
the  prevention  of  smoke  in  bituminous  gas-firing,  as  follows : 

“In  some  applications  of  gas  recently  made  to  return  tubular 
boilers  by  the  writer,  a  careful  use  of  the  above  principles  in  the 
light  of  previous  less  successful  experience,  resulted  in  the  preven¬ 
tion  of  all  smoke  and  in  an  increase  of  the  evaporative  capacity  of 
the  boilers  of  over  12  per  cent,  as  compared  with  the  results  from 
the  same  coal  burned  on  the  grate.  At  the  same  time  there  was  a 
saving  of  about  15  per  cent,  in  the  amount  of  coal  used.  The  air 
for  combustion  was  not  pre-heated,  and  the  temperature  of  the 
waste  gases  was  700 0  or  more,  as  the  boilers  were  too  short  for  the 
most  economical  work.  Had  hot  air  been  used,  of  course,  this  high 
stack  temperature  would  not  have  been  a  source  of  serious  loss. 
The  mixture  of  the  gas  and  air  was  made  as  promptly  and  as  per¬ 
fectly  as  possible,  by  a  special  arrangement  of  the  ports,  and  inflam¬ 
mation  was  thoroughly  developed  in  a  brick  chamber  below  the 
boilers.  This  was  so  arranged  that  but  little  more  than  the  prod¬ 
ucts  of  combustion  reached  the  shell  of  the  boiler,  and  at  the  same 
time  the  temperature  at  which  combustion  took  place  was  kept  high 
by  the  reflected  and  radiated  heat  from  the  walls  of  the  chamber. 
For  successful  firing  it  is  essential  that  the  mixture  of  gas  and  air 
should  take  place  as  soon  as  possible  after  they  enter  the  combus- 


R.  D .  Wood  Sr  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


77 


tion  chamber.  Frequently  they  are  introduced  in  parallel  streams, 
but  even  if  these  streams  are  small,  the  gas  and  air  often  travel  quite 
a  distance  with  but  little  mingling  of  the  currents.  This  is  an  im¬ 
portant  point. 

“The  arrangement  referred  to  above  provoked  some  criticism 
from  onlookers,  as  the  fire  seemed  too  far  from  the  boiler  to  those 
whose  idea  was  that  the  conditions  of  a  coal  fire  should  be  imitated 
as  closely  as  possible.  But  the  entire  absence  of  smoke  and  the 
duty  obtained  from  the  coal,  both  as  to  economy  and  rate  of  evap¬ 
oration,  were  sufficient  arguments  in  proof  of  the  correctness  of  the 
principle  employed.  One  point  noted  during  this  test  was  that  it 
was  practically  impossible  for  the  firemen  to  make  smoke  except  by 
the  most  gross  inattention  to  the  relative  proportions  of  air  and 
gas. 

“  I  know  of  no  other  method  of  burning  fuel  which  presents  so 
practical  and  reliable  a  solution  of  the  smoke  problem ,  for  it  not 
only  makes  no  smoke  when  carefully  operated,  but  is  equally  free 
from  that  fault  when  the  fireman's  vigilance  is  relaxed,  and  it  adds 
to  this  the  advantage  of  economy  over  the  methods  in  general  use/' 


Average  Volumetric  Analyses. — For  convenient  refer¬ 
ence,  the  following  table  is  here  inserted,  showing  what  may  be 
considered  average  volumetric  analyses,  and  the  weight  and  energy 
of  iooo  cubic  feet,  of  the  four  types  of  gases  used  for  heating  and 
illuminating  purposes : 


Natural 

Gas. 

Coal  Gas. 

Water 

Gas. 

Producer  Gas. 
Anthra.  Bitu. 

CO . 

O.50 

6.0 

45-0 

27.O 

27.0 

H . 

4.1$ 

46.0 

45-0 

12.0 

12.0 

CH4 . 

92.6 

40.0 

2.0 

1.2 

2.5 

C„H .  . 

0. 31 

4.0 

0.4 

co2 . 

0.26 

0-5 

4.0 

2-5 

2.5 

N . 

3.61 

1-5 

2.0 

57-o 

55-3 

0 . 

0-34 

0-5 

0.5 

0.3 

o-3 

Viinnr  .  . 

1-5 

1-5 

Pounds  in  iooo  cubic  ft.. 

45.6 

32.0 

45-6 

65.6 

65-9 

H.  U.  in  iooo  cubic  ft.... 

1, 100,000 

735>000 

322,000 

137.455 

156,917 

78 


R.  D.  Wood  &■  Co.,  Philadelphia 


APPARATUS  OF  EARLIER  DESIGN  FOR  SUPPLYING  PRODUCER  GAS  TO 
100  PIORSE  POWER  GAS  ENGINE.  SHOWS  ROTARY  INSTEAD  OF 
STEAM  BLOWER.  ONLY  SMALL  FLOOR  SPACE  WAS 
AVAILABLE.  ERECTED  1896.  (From  Photo.) 


R.  D.  Wood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


79 


PRODUCER  GAS  POWER  PLANTS. 

One  Horse  Power— One  Hour — One  Pound  of  Coal. 

“  MOND  GAS  ”  WITH  BY-PRODUCT  RECOVERY. 


No  question  of  engineering  has  greater  interest  for  the  profes¬ 
sion,  is  more  worthy  of  attention  or  more  likely  to  yield  immediate 
and  tangible  results  to  industrial  management  than  the  economic 
generation  of  power. 

While  in  America  we  have  constructed  the  largest  steam  power 
plants,  and  have  kept  pace  with  England  and  the  Continent  in  the 
use  of  the  most  approved  method  of  fuel  consumption  on  old  lines, 
American  engineers  have  not  given  as  much  attention  to  cheapen¬ 
ing  the  production  of  power  by  using  producer  gas — a  use  which 
has  grown  so  largely  in  England  and  Germany. 

The  investigations  and  patents  of  Dr.  Ludwig  Mond,  of  Eng¬ 
land,  cover  the  most  important  advance  that  has  been  made  in  this 
direction,  “Mond  gas”  for  power  or  heating  being  generated  from 
bituminous  coals.  (See  p.  89.) 

The  Gas  Engine  . — The  earliest  types  of  internal  combus¬ 
tion  motors,  it  is  true,  fell  short  in  regulation  and  smoothness  of 
operation.  Yet,  established  on  an  industrial  basis  less  than  twenty- 
five  years  ago,  its  present  success  and  extended  application  can  have 
been  attained  only  by  the  development  of  a  machine  having  inherent 
value  with  practical  and  substantial  advantages. 

One  reason  for  these  advantages  is  in  the  much  more  direct 
conversion.  In  the  steam  engine  the  heat  is  first  transferred  from 
the  coal  to  the  water  in  the  boiler,  which,  in  the  form  of  steam,  is 
caused  to  expand  its  energy  upon  the  piston  of  the  engine ;  whereas, 
with  the  gas  engine,  the  heat  is  transferred  direct  into  the  cylinder  of 
the  engine  in  the  form  of  gas,  without  having  first  been  converted 
into  any  other  medium.  This  is  not  the  whole  difference,  but  is  an 
important  one. 

Growth  of  Producer  Gas  Power  Plants. — There  are  now 
over  60,000  horse  power  of  gas  engines  in  daily  operation  with 
producer  gas,  some  forty  of  such  plants  with  our  type  of  gas  pro¬ 
ducer  in  every  variety  of  service.  Indeed,  this  combination  gas 
plant,  either  in  single  or  several  units  of  engine,  from  50  to  1500 


8o 


R.  D.  hVood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia . 


horse  power,  now  successfully  competes  with  steam.  One  brake 
horse  power  per  hour  on  one  pound  of  coal  has  been  attained,  and 
we  may  look  forward  confidently  to  such  performance  or  better  as 
that  of  daily  practice. 

Fuel  Consumption  and  Efficiencies* — There  are  substan¬ 
tial  reasons  for  this  superiority  of  the  gas  producer-gas  engine  com¬ 
bination.  The  steam  engine  can  be  made  an  economical  motor  only 
when  of  enormous  power.  Between  ioo  and  500  horse  power,  and, 
under  actual  working  conditions,  the  coal  consumption  per  effective 
horse  power  per  hour  will  range  from  2.4  to  4  pounds.  With 
smaller  powers,  current  practice  will  require  5  or  6  pounds,  while 
the  average  of  an  ordinary  working  district  using  a  large  number 
of  small  engines  will  be  10  or  12  pounds  per  effective  horse  power 
per  hour. 

Twelve  per  cent,  of  the  heat  value  of  the  steam  converted  into 
mechanical  work  is  about  the  performance  of  the  best  types  in 
large  units.  The  most  approved  form  of  boiler  will  not  transfer  to 
the  steam  over  80  per  cent,  of  the  energy  of  the  coal ;  50  per  cent, 
may  be  a  minimum  and  65  per  cent,  a  fair  average. 

The  combined  efficiency  of  the  best  engines  and  boilers  is, 
therefore,  not  over  12  per  cent.  It  is  often  much  less,  and  with  ex¬ 
tensive  steam  lines  or  scattered  distribution  of  units,  as  in  large 
manufacturing  establishments,  it  is  very  low.  The  modern  gas  en¬ 
gine,  however,  even  in  small  powers,  will  give  an  efficiency  consid¬ 
erably  higher  than  the  largest  and  most  economical  steam  engine. 
If,  however,  these  gas  engines  are  supplied  with  illuminating  gas 
as  fuel,  a  large  portion  of  this  economy  disappears,  because  of  the 
cost  of  the  gas*  Energy  bought  in  the  form  of  coal  gas  costs,  at  a 
dollar  a  thousand  feet,  about  thirteen  times  as  much  as  an  equiva¬ 
lent  amount  of  energy  in  the  form  of  coal  at  three  dollars  per  ton ; 
hence,  in  order  to  take  full  advantage  of  the  gas  engine,  we  must 
produce  the  gas  economically  where  it  is  used;  and  such  a  plant, 
consisting  of  a  gas  producer  with  suitable  cleansing  and  storage  ap¬ 
paratus,  working  in  connection  with  a  good  gas  engine,  gives  us 
the  most  economical  power  of  the  present  day.  With  a  theoretical 
thermal  efficiency  of  80  per  cent.,  a  practical  of  26  to  30  per  cent'., 
the  gas  engine  will  readily  realize  in  actual  working  conditions  20 
to  25  per  cent,  of  the  energy  of  the  gas  delivered  to  it.  Indeed,  as 
high  as  31  per  cent,  has  been  attained  when  weak  blast  furnace  gases 
served  the  motor. 


/?.  D.  Wood  £r  Co.,  Philadelphia.  Si 


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STANDARD  GAS  PRODUCER  POWER  PLANT. 


82 


R.  D.  IVood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


The  gas  producer  of  such  an  installation  will  readily  trans¬ 
fer  to  the  gas  80  per  cent,  of  the  energy  of  the  coal.  Thus,  the 
combined  efficiency  of  the  gas  producer  and  gas  engine  with  an 
inferior  fuel  is  20  per  cent*  as  against  the  \2  per  cent*  of  a  steam 
plant  using  the  best  of  steaming  coaL 

With  an  average  coal,  therefore,  a  steam  plant  of  the  highest 
efficiency  and  large  power  would  require  67  per  cent,  more  fuel  than 
a  gas  engine  on  producer  gas,  appearing  relatively  with  increasing 
disadvantage  as  the  horse  power  of  the  installation  decreased.  With 
such  a  coal  and  90  per  cent,  efficiency  of  the  dynamos,  there  would 
be  a  consumption  with  gas  of  1.13  pounds,  with  steam  1.88  pounds 
of  fuel  per  electric  horse  power  per  hour ;  an  economy  of  40  per  cent, 
with  the  gas  installation  or  a  ratio  of  efficiencies  of  18  to  10.8 
per  cent. 

One  indicated  horse  power  per  hour  for  less  than  ij  pounds  of 
coal  can  be  easily  obtained  with  as  small  as  100  horse  power.  In 
practice  it  will  be  at  least  not  more  than  one-fourth  of  a  good  steam 
engine  of  the  same  power. 

A  Gas  Producer  Power  Plant  of  our  standard  design  for 
supplying  producer  gas  to  gas  engines  is  shown  by  the  illustration 
on  page  81.  It  consists  of  a  small  steam  boiler,  a  Gas  Producer 
with  Bildt  Continuous  Feed,  an  economizer  with  super-heater  and 
wash  box,  a  scrubber,  purifier  and  gas  holder  in  steel  tank  and  guide 
framing,  with  suitable  drips  and  connections.  The  details  are  modi¬ 
fied  to  suit  varying  conditions:  the  boiler,  for  instance,  may  be 
omitted  where  steam  can  be  secured  from  another  source,  and  in 
some  cases  no  separate  steam  generator  is  used  at  all. 

This  equipment  is  made  in  sizes  proportioned  for  operating  50, 
75,  100,  150,  200,  250,  300,  400  and  500  horse  power,  each  size  being 
capable  of  running  about  25  per  cent,  over  its  rated  capacity  for  a 
short  time.  Larger  equipments  with  two  or  more  producers  are 
varied  in  general  design  and  arrangement. 

While  for  the  smallest  plants  a  coal  elevator  and  storage  bin 
above  the  feed  magazine  is  not  necessary,  yet  it  is  sometimes  added, 
and  for  the  larger  sizes  of  producer  is  recommended.  When  in 
batteries  it  is  customary  to  provide  an  elevator  and  conveyor  with 
chutes  from  the  conveyor  to  each  feed  device. 


R.  D.  Wood  &  Co Philadelphia.  83 


£ 


BOTTOM,  AS  ERECTED  IN  BATTERIES 


400  H.  P.  GAS  PRODUCER  POWER  PLANT  DESIGNED  AND  CONSTRUCTED  FOR  THE  ERIE  RAILROAD  AT  JERSEY  CITY, 


84 


R.  D.  Wood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


One  plant  of  this  character  has  been  most  thoroughly  investi¬ 
gated  by  Professor  H.  W.  Spangler.  In  his  report  (see  Journal  of 
the  Franklin  Institute  for  May,  1893,)  he  describes  the  testing  of  a 
cne-hundred-horse  power  gas  engine  and  producer  plant  at  the  Otto 
Gas  Engine  Works,  Philadelphia,  in  which  the  results  may  be  sum¬ 
marized  as  follows : 

Coal  used  per  indicated  horse  power  per  hour . 95  pounds. 

“  “  “  brake  “  “  “  “  .  1.3 

Combustible  per  indicated  “  “  “  “  83 

“  brake  “  “  “  “  .  1.15  “ 

The  engine  used  in  the  above  case  was  a  new  one,  and  had, 
consequently,  as  shown  by  the  figures,  a  very  large  internal  friction, 
tiie  brake  horse  power  only  being  72  per  cent,  of  the  indicated 
horse  power.  It  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  had  this  engine  been 
working  with  the  ordinary  efficiency  of  85  per  cent.,  the  coal  per 
brake  horse  power  would  have  been  only  about  1.1  pounds;  that  is, 
a  higher  efficiency  than  has  ever  been  obtained  in  any  marine  engine 
or  large  pumping  plant  in  the  world. 

Since  the  date  of  the  above  test  experience  has  developed  im¬ 
proved  design  and  construction  in  both  the  producer  and  acces¬ 
sory  parts.  This  is  exemplified  in  the  installation  designed  and 
constructed  by  us  early  in  1899  for  the  Erie  Railroad,  at  Jersey 
City,  N.  J. 

We  call  special  attention  to  this  40C- Horse  Power  Engine  Gas 
Plant,  which  was  built  under  a  guarantee  of  delivering  in  the  gas 
10,000  B.  T.  U.,  or  80  cubic  feet  of  gas  of  125  B.  T.  U.  per  cubic 
foot,  per  pound  of  coal  gasified  in  the  producer,  with  a  further 
guarantee  on  the  engines  of  ij  pounds  of  coal  per  horse  power  per 
hour ;  the  coal  to  be  a  fair  quality  anthracite,  buckwheat  or  pea  size. 

While  these  guarantees,  no  doubt,  were  influences  largely 
prompting  the  adoption  of  the  gas  installation,  yet  it  is  especially 
noteworthy  that  it  was  selected  only  after  a  careful  review  of  the 
economies  possible  with  a  high-class  boiler  and  steam  engine  plant 
in  which  the  high-priced  lump  coal  was  to  be  replaced  by  the  cheaper 
and  finer  sizes  of  anthracite.  The  economy  in  change  of  kind  of  coal 
was  in  itself  large,  with  but  little  difference  in  the  costs  of  the  two- 
installations. 

The  illustration,  p.  83,  shows  the  arrangement  of  the  gas  plant, 
essentially  as  erected.  It  comprised  two  Nc.  7  Revolving  Bottom 


R.  D.  Wood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


85 


Gas  Producers  of  capacity  sufficient  for  400  indicated  horse  power 
in  Otto  gas  engines.  A  link-belt  elevator  carries  the  coal  from 
the  elevator  boot  near  the  base  of  the  producers,  to  which  point 
gravity  takes  it  from  the  coal  bins,  and  delivers  it  upon  chutes  con¬ 
veying  it  to  the  receiving  hoppers  of  the  Bildt  automatic  and  con¬ 
tinuous  feed  devices.  The  automatic  feed  distributes  the  coal  con¬ 
tinuously  and  uniformly  over  the  entire  surface  of  the  fuel  bed,  the 
arrangement  almost  entirely  eliminating  labor  in  the  transfer  of  the 
fuel  from  storage  bins  to  its  withdrawal  as  ashes  from  the  bottom 
of  the  producer. 

The  gases  leaving  the  producer  enter  the  superheater  and  econ¬ 
omizer,  through  which  latter  attachment  the  air  blast  of  the  pro¬ 
ducer  travels  in  the  reverse  direction  to  the  Korting  blower.  Pass¬ 
ing  through  the  wash-box,  the  gas  largely  deposits  its  extraneous 
matter.  Here  also  is  arranged  a  seal  against  the  gases  stored  in  the 
holder  and  present  in  the  rest  of  the  apparatus.  Entering  the  scrub¬ 
bers,  whose  compartments  are  filled  with  coke  and  showered  by 
water  sprays,  it  is  still  further  purified  of  any  tarry  matter,  sulphur 
or  ammonia,  which  operation  is  sufficiently  completed  in  the  purifier, 
the  next  and  last  element  of  the  plant,  before  reaching  the  holder. 
In  the  holder  is  stored  a  sufficient  supply  to  start  and  for  several 
minutes’  run,  but  it  serves  mainly  as  a  regulator  of  pressures  and 

cares  for  variations  in  consumption  and  mixture  of  gases.  Drip 

• 

pots  and  drainage  pipes,  minor  but  very  essential  parts,  are  placed 
suitably,  while  the  hot  water  from  the  producer  tops  is  carried  to 
the  holder  tank. 

There  are  two  90-horse  power  and  several  45-horse  power  Otto 
gas  engines,  a  130  two  thousand  candle  power  arc  light  machine, 
a  450  light  incandescent  machine,  a  belt  driven  Ingersoll-Ser- 
geant  duplex  air  compressor,  while  gas  is  piped  to  about  1200  feet 
distant,  and  used  in  gas  engines  at  the  coal  chutes  and  ash  hand¬ 
ling  plant. 

One  man  attends  to  the  producers  and  fires  the  boilers  installed 
for  steam  heating  when  they  are  in  use,  though  in  summer  only  a 
small  boiler  is  fired  to  serve  the  producers.  Another  man  and  helper 
look  after  the  engines  and  electric  apparatus. 

The  following  testimonial,  unsolicited,  was  received  after  the 
plant  had  been  in  operation  for  some  time : 


86 


R.  D.  PVood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


Jersey  City,  N.  J.,  August  15,  1899. 
R.  D.  Wood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Gentlemen: — The  Gas  Producing  Plant  you  installed  at  Jersey  City  is 
very  satisfactory.  The  test  you  made  indicates  that  you  are  doing  better  than 
you  guaranteed :  to  furnish  gas  of  such  quantity  and  quality  as  to  equal  10,000 
heat  units  from  one  pound  of  coal — and  this  from  rice  anthracite,  while  your 
guarantee  was  to  get  these  results  from  the  more  expensive  grade  of  buck¬ 
wheat  anthracite.  We  believe  this  is  a  very  efficient  plant. 

Yours  truly, 


H.  F.  Baldwin. 


Examination  of  the  gases  showed  a  gratifying  regularity  of 
composition  and  calorific  power,  two  of  the  analyses  taken  on  dif¬ 
ferent  days  showing: 


Carbon  dioxide,  CO2  .  8.6  8.2 

Oxygen,  O . 4  .8 

Carbon  monoxide,  CO .  17.2  19.4 

Hydrogen,  H  .  18.3  16.6 

Marsh  gas,  CH4  .  2.4  2.8 

Nitrogen,  by  difference,  N .  53.1  52.2 


The  calorific  powers  ranged  from  136  to  143  B.  T.  U.  per 
cubic  foot  and  84.7  cubic  feet  of  gas  per  pound  of  coal.  Thus, 
while  the  guarantee  called  for  80  cubic  feet  of  gas  of  125  B.  T.  U. 
per  cubic  foot,  or  10,000  heat  units  per  pound  of  coal,  approxi¬ 
mately  12,100  B.  T.  U.  per  pound  were  obtained.  The  engines 
gave  an  indicated  horse  power  on  1.03  pounds  of  coal  against  the 
ii  pounds  guaranteed,  with  the  producer  plant  also  showing  a 
capacity  of  471  horse  power  against  a  guarantee  of  400.  These 
results  were  the  more  valuable  because  they  were  obtained  from  the 
gasification  of  rice  anthracite,  in  the  use  of  which  the  producers 
showed  unusual  facility  of  operation. 

Of  our  later  installations  may  be  mentioned  those  of  United 
States  Radiator  Co.,  Dunkirk,  N.  Y.,  250  horse  power;  Marinette 
Iron  Works  Mfg.  Co.,  Marinette,  Wis.,  200  horse  power;  Union 
Traction  Co.,  Philadelphia,  700  horse  power;  Agar,  Cross  & 
Co.,  N.  Y.,  200  horse  power;  Easton  Power  Co.,  Easton,  Pa.,  1000 
horse  power ;  Camden  Iron  Works,  Camden,  N.  J.,  400  horse  power. 

The  general  results  in  fuel  economy,  gas  analyses,  etc.,  closely 
approximate  those  of  the  Erie  Railroad  described  above. 


R.  D.  IVood  &•  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


8  7 


Space  Required. — Although  varying  with  the  power,  with 
single  producers  an  area  of  15  feet  by  35  feet  or  less  will  comprise 
several  hundred  horse  power  exclusive  of  the  holder.  The  size  of 
the  latter  may  be  modified  to  suit  special  conditions,  but  with  ample 
producer  capacity  less  storage  is  required,  and  its  need  further  re¬ 
duced  by  the  automatic  regulation  of  gas  production  by  movement 
of  the  holder.  The  holders  are  1000  cubic  feet  capacity  or  upwards. 

First  Cost  and  Labor  Charge  of  such  installations  are 
about  equal  to  that  of  first-class  steam  engines  and  boilers,  but  the 
resultant  economies  would  justify  a  largely  increased  expenditure 
and  cover  it  in  a  brief  period.  One  man  may  serve  up  to  500  or 
even  1000  horse  power,  depending  upon  the  number  of  producers 
and  detail  of  the  plant ;  the  labor  may  be  taken  as  from  50  to  75  per 
cent,  of  that  of  steam. 

Repairs  and  Maintenance  are  also  less  than  that  of  a  steam 
plant  of  the  same  power.  After  eighteen  months’  service  of  one 
of  our  largest  plants  the  repairs  were  almost  nominal.  Producer 
linings  have  stood  as  long  as  ten  years,  and  in  any  case  should  stand 
several  years.  However,  fifteen  to  twenty  cents  per  horse  power 
per  year  may  be  taken  as  an  approximate  estimate  for  medium 
sized  plants. 

Economy  in  Transmission  of  power  by  producer  gas  is 
one  of  its  important  advantages.  The  average  pressure  on  the  line 
is  about  two  inches,  and  there  is  an  absence  of  the  great  losses  by 
condensation  and  leakage  as  with  steam.  Indeed,  being  a  fixed  gas, 
its  additional  cooling  is  an  advantage,  for  its  energy  per  unit  volume 
is  proportionately  increased.  The  gas  may,  therefore,  be  piped  in 
exposed  pipes  long  distances  to  isolated  engines,  and  in  large  works 
attain  thus  great  saving  in  shafting,  belting  and  their  attendant 
power  losses.  Expensive  stacks  are  avoided  also. 

Water  Consumption. — In  the  combined  gas  plant  more 
water  will  be  required  than  with  steam,  the  water  jackets  of  the 
engine  using  the  major  portion.  It  may,  however,  be  largely  re¬ 
covered  by  the  use  of  tanks  for  cooling,  settling  and  storage. 


88 


R.  D.  Wood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


Readiness  for  Operation  and  Fuel  Economy  During 
Hours  of  Idleness  are  marked  features  of  a  gas  plant.  Stop¬ 
ping  and  starting  gas  generation  is  simply  a  matter  of  manipulat¬ 
ing  the  small  valve  at  the  steam  jet  air  blast.  The  producer  will 
retain  fire  for  two  weeks  with  comparatively  trivial  fuel  consump¬ 
tion,  and  over  night  without  the  least  attention.  A  consumption  or 
waste  of  four  pounds  of  coal  per  hour  in  medium-sized  plants  may 
he  assumed  as  an  average,  a  result  far  surpassing  steam.  The 
engine  may  always  be  started  by  the  gas  in  the  holder  and  the  pro¬ 
ducers  are  soon  in  full  operation. 

Illumination  by  Producer  Gas  may  be  secured  by  a  sim¬ 
ple  expedient  about  the  plant  using  such  a  power  installation. 

Guarantee. — The  gas  plants  are  guaranteed  to  deliver  in 
their  gas  10,000  British  thermal  units  per  pound  of  coal  gasified  in 
the  producer.  This  is  based  on  approximately  125  B.  T.  U.  per 
cubic  foot  and  80  cubic  feet  of  gas  per  pound  of  coal,  whereas  the 
heating  value  more  nearly  averages  145  B.  T.  U.  per  cubic  foot. 
The  fuel  is  either  a  fair  quality  anthracite  buckwheat  or  pea  coal. 
Upon  such  gas,  engine  builders  usually  guarantee  from  1  to  ij 
pounds  of  coal  per  B.  H.  P.  per  hour,  depending  upon  the  size  of 
engine  and  detail  of  installation. 

Kind  of  Fuel  Available.  — In  the  above  type  of  plant  the 
most  satisfactory  fuel  is  either  anthracite  coal  or  coke.  The  coke, 
however,  must  be  in  small  pieces  approximating,  say,  one-inch 
cubes ;  large  size  coke  will  give  a  weak  gas  as  ordinarily  gasified. 
About  one-third  more  by  weight  should  be  taken  as  fuel  consump¬ 
tion  when  coke  instead  of  anthracite  is  used.  By  automatic 
and  simple  apparatus  the  gas  may  be  enriched  to  250  to  300  heat 
units  per  cubic  foot. 

It  may  be  noted,  however,  that  while  in  this  form  of  installa¬ 
tion  there  may  be  preferences  in  fuel,  with  a  modified  plant,  such 
materials  as  peat,  tan  bark,  wood,  sawdust,  etc.,  may  be  advan¬ 
tageously  gasified  for  use  in  gas  engines. 


R.  D.  IV ood  Sr  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


8g 


"MONO  GAS ” 

WITH  OR  WITHOUT  BY-PRODUCT  RECOVERY. 


The  use  of  bituminous  coal  in  the  production  of  power  or 
heating  gas  finds  most  satisfactory  solution  in  this  process. 

Dr.  Ludwig  Mond  has  skillfully  developed  it  on  scientific 
lines,  his  plant  generating  a  clean,  cheap  gas  admirably  adapted  to 
gas  engines  and  a  large  range  of  heating  operations. 

With  by-product  recovery  the  nitrogen  of  the  coal  is  converted 
into  ammonia,  with  subsequent  absorption  in  dilute  sulphuric  acid, 
forming  ammonium  sulphate.  By  evaporation,  this  solution  yields 
crystals  of  the  commercial  “Sulphate  of  Ammonia”  finding  an  ex¬ 
tensive  and  ready  market. 

A  ton  of  coal  produces  140,000  to  160,000  cubic  feet  of  gas 
and,  gasified  on  a  sufficiently  large  scale  and  under  favorable  condi¬ 
tions,  ammonia  equivalent  to  90  pounds  of  “Sulphate  of  Ammonia.” 

The  gas  averages  145  British  thermal  units  per  cubic  foot, 
is  free  from  tar,  soot  or  dust,  and  contains  less  sulphur  than  ordi¬ 
nary  producer  gas,  while  the  thorough  system  of  heat  recuperation 
returns  in  the  gas  84  to  86  per  cent,  of  the  heat  value  of  the  coal 
gasified. 

In  the  by-product  recovery  an  excess  of  steam  is  delivered  to 
the  producer  with  the  air  blast.  A  part  of  the  major  portion  of  this 
steam  is  decomposed  in  the  producer,  largely  increasing  the  hydro¬ 
gen  contents  of  the  gas,  while  the  balance  is  recovered  at  a  later 
stage  and  again  returned  to  the  producer  with  the  air  blast. 

The  hot  gas  and  undecomposed  steam  pass  from  the  producer 
to  tubular  regenerators,  wherein  their  sensible  heat  is  largely  util¬ 
ized  in  superheating  the  mixed  air  and  steam  blast  which  passes  in 
the  reverse  direction  to  the  base  of  the  producer.  Thence  entering 
the  washer,  the  hot  gas  and  vapor  are  brought  into  intimate  contact 
with  water,  vaporizing  it,  thus  cooling  and  saturating  the  gas  while 
converting  the  sensible  into  latent  heat. 

The  acid  tower  next  abstracts  the  ammonia,  and  the  gas  then 
entering  the  gas-cooling  tower  meets  a  shower  of  cold  water  over 
tiling,  itself  is  cooled,  its  associated  steam  condensed  with  a  net 
result  of  a  cold,  clean  gas  ready  for  use  and  hot  water.  This 
hot  water,  entering  the  top  of  the  air-heating  tower,  showers  down 


go 


R.  D.  Wood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


over  tiling,  saturating  and  preheating  the  air  blast  passing  in  the 
reverse  direction  on  its  way  to  the  base  of  the  producer  through 
the  tubular  regenerator  referred  to  above. 

Where  the  quantity  of  fuel  to  be  gasified  is  less  than  30  tons 
per  day,  and  the  necessary  exhaust  steam  or  vapor  beyond  that 
obtained  in  the  gas-cooling  tower  is  not  available,  the  sulphate 
recovery  is  better  dispensed  with  and  the  first  cost  of  the  plant 
is  materially  reduced. 

When  the  ammonia  is  not  recovered,  about  the  same  quantity 
of  steam  is  required  as  is  used  in  ordinary  producers. 

The  Mond  producer  gives  a  uniform  gas  under  a  wide  range 
of  one-third  to  full  load,  responds  at  once  to  increased  demand  for 
gas,  while  its  methods  of  charging  and  ash  removal  in  no  manner 
interfere  with  its  continuous  steady  operation. 

Engines  working  on  this  gas  have  run  continuously  at  full 
loads  for  six  months  and  are  now  operating  in  sizes  up  to  650  I. 
H.  P.,  gas  engines  working  at  varying  load  consuming  one  pound 
of  fuel  per  I.  H.  P.  per  hour. 

The  most  notable  plants  now  erected  are  those  at  the  Chemical 
Works  of  Messrs.  Brunner,  Mond  &  Co.,  of  England,  and  the  Sol- 
vay  Process  Co.,  in  America,  by  which  the  ammonia  and  tar  pro¬ 
ducts  are  secured  from  the  coal  with  the  most  satisfactory  results  in 
economy  and  efficiency. 

Below  are  given  the  results  secured  at  the  works  of  Messrs. 
Brunner,  Mond  &  Co.,  England,  for  twelve  months’  operation, 
which  yield  a  credit  from  the  by-products  of  $1.78  per  ton  of  coal 
gasified  after  all  costs  of  production  of  gas  are  considered. 

With  the  well-established  fact  that  gas  engines  are  producing 
power  with  less  than  1^  pounds  per  horse  power  per  hour,  there 
is  a  saving  of  fully  50  per  cent,  over  the  ordinary  steam  engine. 
If  in  addition  to  this  there  is  a  further  economy  of  $1.78  per  ton 
to  be  gained  from  securing  by-products  (as  is  accomplished  in  the 
Mond  producer),  those  considering  the  generation  of  power  in 
large  units  have  before  them  an  opportunity  for  reducing  the  cost 
of  power  to  an  extent  which  has  heretofore  not  received  the  atten¬ 
tion  that  the  subject  demands. 

The  large  engine  plants  of  this  country  are  ready  to  fur¬ 
nish  generators  driven  by  gas  engines  and  capable  of  delivering 
2000  H.  P.,  and,  as  we  have  secured  Dr.  Mond’s  patents  for  this 
country,  it  is  our  desire  to  call  the  above  facts  to  the  attention  of 


R.  D.  Wood  &  Co Philadelphia. 


91 


parties  contemplating  the  erection  or  enlargement  of  power  plants 
to  the  use  of  Mond  gas  for  the  production  of  power. 

As  an  Illustration  : 

In  the  use  of  gas  engines  over  steam  engines  there  is  an 
economy  of  about  50  per  cent. 

If  a  by-product  plant  is  added  to  the  gas  producers,  say,  in  a 
2000  H.  P.  Station,  which  would  consume  8035  tons  of  coal  per 
year  (300  working  days,  24  hours  each)  there  would  be  an  annual 
saving  through  by-products — on  a  basis  of  $1.78  per  ton  of  coal 
gasified — of  $14,300,  or  over  $7  per  H.  P.  This  saving  is  from 
by-products  alone  and  is  in  addition  to  the  saving  from  the  use  of 
gas  engines  over  and  above  steam  engines. 

The  Mond  Producer  Gas  Process  is  peculiarly  adaptable  for 
use  in  steel,  glass,  chemical  or  other  works  where  a  large  amount 
of  fuel  is  consumed,  and  it  will  be  remembered  that  by  the  removal 
of  the  by-products  the  heat  units  are  not  reduced. 

Statement  showing  the  average  cost  of  production  of  sulphate 
of  ammonia  at  the  works  of  Brunner,  Mond  &  Co.,  Ltd.  (North- 
wich,  England,  for  twelve  months,  ending  March,  1899: 


Average  Monthly  Yield  of  Ammonium  Sufi  hate .  180.2  tons. 

Average  Monthly  Amount  of  Coal  Gasified .  4650.0  “ 


ITEMS  IN  COST  OF  PRODUCTION. 

Average  Cost  per  Ton  of  Ammonium 
Sulphate  for  Twelve  Months, 
Ending  March,  1899. 

£• 

s. 

d. 

Amei  ican 
Equivalent. 

Working  Producer  and  Sulphate  Plant,  gasi¬ 
fying  an  average  of  4650  tons  of  fuel  per 
month . 

I 

8 

5-53 

$6,930 

Materials  Account — Manufacturing . 

... 

3 

8.38 

.900 

Repairs — Materials  and  Labor . . 

I 

1 

8.64 

5.2S9 

Acid  used  at  24  shillings  per  ton . 

,  * 

I 

3 

6.18 

*  5.726 

Total  Cost  of  Producing  One  Ton  of  Am-  'l 
monium  Sulphate,  the  necessary  steam  } 
being  provided  without  charge  from  ex-  j 
haust  of  steam  or  gas  engines . J 

3 

17 

4-73 

18.845 

Average  Monthly  Yield  of  Ammonium  Sufi  hate .  180.2  tons. 

Average  Monthly  Amount  of  Coal  Gasified .  4650.0  “ 


Average  Market  Value  of  Ammonium  Sulphate  in  America  during  the 


last  three  years .  $64,960 

Average  Cost  of  Producing  One  Ton  of  Ammonium  Sulphate .  18. 845 

Profit  in  Producing  One  Ton  of  Ammonium  Sulphate .  $46,115 


Note.— Where  the  gas  is  used  in  gas  engines  the  heat  of  the  exhaust  gases  from  these 
engines  will  suffice  to  provide  this  steam  at  atmospheric  pressure. 

In  steel  works,  chemical  works,  etc.,  there  is  usually  waste  steam  availab’e  in  abundance; 
where  neither  exhaust  from  steam  nor  gas  engines  is  available.it  has  to  be  raised  in  special 

boilers. 


92 


R.  D.  Wood  &  Co. ,  Philadelphia. 


MONO  GAS  ANALYSIS. 

Hydrogen . . 

Carbon  monoxide . 

Marsh  gas  . 

Oxygen . 

Carbon  dioxide  . 

Nitrogen . 

B.  T.  U. — per  cubic  foot . 


At  Full 
Load. 

24.OO 

16.00 

2.20 

0.00 

12.40 

45-40 

145-50 


At  ^ 
L(  ad. 

21.60 

16.40 
2.4O 
O  OO 

12.40 
47.20 

144-50 


Results  obtained  in  the  year  1898  on  working  a  Gas  Engine 
using  Mond  Gas  and  coupled  direct  to  a  Siemens  Dynamo,  at 
Messrs.  Brunner,  Mond  &  Co.’s  Works,  England: 


HOURS  RUNNING. 


Total  number  of  hours  in  year .  8,760 

Number  of  hours  gas  engine  ran  on  load .  8,356.5 

Hours  running  as  per  cent,  of  total .  95.4 


GAS  USED  AND  UNITS  OF  ELECTRICITY  GENERATED. 

Number  of  units  of  electricity  (1000  Watt  hours)  generated  by 


the  gas  engine,  dynamo  and  measured  at  the  switchboard 

during  1898 .  558,726 

CUBIC  FEET  OF  GAS. 

Cubic  feet  of  Mond  gas  supplied  to  the  gas  engine  during  the 

year,  measured  by  meter .  64,281,240 


COAL  PER  UNIT  OF  ELECTRICITY  GENERATED. 


Cubic  feet  of  gas  measured  at  atmospheric  temperature  per 

kilowatt-hour  .  115.05 

Equivalent  to  slack  used  per  electric  unit  generated — in  pounds. .  1.79 

Average  amperes  (at  100  volts)  during  year .  668.50 

Average  electrical  horse  power  (at  switchboard) .  89.60 

On  the  assumption  that  the  electrical  efficiency  of  the  dynamo  is 
91  per  cent.,  and  the  mechanical  efficiency  of  engine  85  per 

cent.,  the  combined  efficiency  becomes — in  per  cent .  77-35 

Average  I.  H.  P.  for  the  year  is .  115.80 

GAS  PER  I.  H.  P. 

Mond  gas  used  per  I.  H.  P.  hour  (average) — in  cubic  feet .  66.40 

SLACK  PER  I.  H.  P. 

Equivalent  of  slack  fed  into  producer — in  pounds .  1.03 

EFFICIENCY. 

Thermal  efficiency,  calculated  from  the  I.  H.  P. — in  per  cent. .. .  25.40 


R.  D.  Wood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


93 


The  greatly  increased  familiarity  with  gaseous  fuel  during 
the  last  few  years  has  resulted  in  a  more  general  knowledge  uf 
its  nature.  Whatever  of  prejudice  existed  against  fuel  in  this  form 
has  been  shown  to  be  groundless  on  the  part  of  those  whose  faith 
rested  in  the  coal  mass  and  shovel  as  a  more  tangible  form  of 
energy.  Experience  has  amply  demonstrated  it  is  safe  in  use  and 
storage;  that  it  is  readily  controlled  and  has  a  range  of  adaptabil.ty 
possessed  by  no  other  fuel.  Applied  to  the  gas  engine,  the  econo¬ 
mies  attained  with  producer  gas  are  in  daily  evidence,  whether 
in  general  power,  pumping,  electric  light  or  traction.  These  econo¬ 
mies  are  such  as  to  warrant  inquiry  into  its  substitution  for  steam 
in  established  plants,  and  certainly  no  new  construction  or  increase 
of  power  in  manufacturing  or  central  power  stations  should  be 
undertaken  without  such  investigation. 


Directions  for  Starting  and  Operating  the  Gas 
Producer. — Before  putting  the  center  piece  with  bell  and  hopper 


in  place,  put  in  ashes,  which  should  be  as  free  from  coal  as  possible, 
until  the  top  of  the  center  dome  (cover  to  air  pipe)  is  covered  say 
3",  and  still  higher  next  to  the  walls  by  say  4"  or  5".  Ashes 
containing  much  coal  are  liable  to 
catch  fire  and  make  the  bottom  of 
the  producer  very  hot.  Coarse 
sand  cr  fine  gravel  is  better  than 
ashes  full  of  coal.  The  top  center 
of  the  ash  bed  should  be  coarse, — 
that  is,  the  fine  ashes  sifted  out  so 
that  the  air  will  have  an  easv  pas¬ 
sage  through  it.  This  ash  should 
be  put  in  as  loosely  as  possible 
around  and  above  the  dome.  It 
can  be  dumped  in  up  to  this  point, 
and,  if  tight,  a  little  grinding  before 
firing  will  loosen  it  up.  After  the 
ashes  are  up  to  the  lowest  opening 
in  the  dome,  better  lower  the  rest  in 
buckets  and  have  a  man  down  in  the 
producer  to  empty  them.  He  should 
stand  on  a  plank  to  prevent  packing 
of  the  ashes.  If  the  top  ashes  are 
thrown  in  thev  become  very  much 
packed,  and  the  pressure  is  high  at  the  start.  Just  before  putting 
m  the  wood,  put  full  pressure  of  steam  on  the  blower  and  note  what 


94 


R.  D.  Wood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


pressure  is  obtained  on  the  gauge.  If  over  of  an  inch  to  f  of  an 
inch  of  water,  the  crank  should  be  turned  a  few  times  to  loosen  the 
ashes. 

To  fire  up,  put  in  a  lot  of  small  dry  wood  about  8  inches  or 
io  inches  thick,  as  on  a  grate,  and  fire  it  with  oily  waste  or  hot  coal. 
Blow  or  let  it  burn  by  natural  draft  until  well  fired  and  partly 
burned  to  live  coals.  Then  put  on  coal  and  as  fast  as  it  brightens 
on  top  bring  up  the  fuel  burden  as  fast  as  it  can  be  done,  the  same 
as  in  any  other  producer.  Put  bell  and  hopper  in  place  soon  after 
coal  firing  is  commenced.  When  soft  coal  is  used,  it  is  more 
convenient  to  use  a  few  bushels  of  coke  in  starting  up. 

For  anthracite,  a  fuel  bed  or  burden  of  about  feet  to  3  feet 
is  ample,  and  less  will  do  unless  the  producer  is  pushed  hard.  When 
running  on  soft  coal  a  depth  of  fuel  about  3J  feet  to  4J  feet  should 
be  carried.  The  producer  should  take  the  air  necessary  for  this,  at  a 
pressure  not  exceeding  3  inches  to  4  inches  of  water. 

If  the  producer  burns  too  fast  on  the  walls,  the  coal  is  too  fine 
or  the  blast  too  strong,  and  one  or  the  other  must  be  changed  ac¬ 
cordingly.  A  certain  amount  of  barring  is  necessary  to  prevent 
honeycombing  of  the  fuel  bed,  to  keep  it  solid  and  the  C02  low. 
If  hydrogen  in  the  gas  is  not  objectionable,  use  as  much  steam 
as  the  producer  will  carry.  Grind  down  the  accumulated  ash  as 
often  as  it  rises  say  12  inches  above  top  of  center  dome;  but  never 
grind  below  6  inches  above  the  top  of  dome ;  that  is,  below  the  level 
of  the  first  sight  hole  above  the  bottom  one.  Poke  the  fuel  bed  well 
from  the  top  after  grinding,  to  get  it  solid,  and  particularly  next  to 
the  walls  to  keep  them  clear  of  clinker.  In  grinding  it  is  sometimes 
better  to  make  say  one  revolution  of  the  table  then  shake  or  jar  it  a 
little  backward  and  forward  with  the  crank,  and  reverse,  turning 
the  crank  the  other  way  for  say  one  revolution  of  the  ash  table; 
shake  again  and  so  on  until  the  ash  is  brought  down  to  the  proper 
height,  which  can  always  be  ascertained  by  pricking  the  little  sight 
holes  with  a  rod.  In  this  way  the  attendant  can  readily  ascertain 
the  dividing  line  between  the  ash  bed  and  incandescent  fuel,  and 
also  whether  it  is  higher  on  one  side  than  on  another.  If  so,  before 
grinding,  push  the  agitating  bars  well  in  on  the  high  side  and  draw 
them  out  on  the  low  side,  or,  in  an  extreme  case,  put  in  the  gates  on 
the  low  side  also.  In  this  way,  with  a  little  experience  and  care,  the 
ash  bed  can  always  be  kept  level  and  the  producer  in  normal  condi¬ 
tion.  If  the  ash  bed  is  fairly  level,  keep  all  the  doors  or  agitating 


R.  D.  IVood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


95 


bars  pushed  in  when  grinding.  This  accelerates  the  discharge  of 
the  ash  and  clinker  all  around  alike.  If  the  coal  is  very  bad  and 
makes  large  clinkers  that  will  not  pass  out  of  the  9-inch  space 
between  the  bottom  of  the  bosh  and  the  table,  an  “observation  door” 
must  be  opened  and  the  clinkers  broken  with  a  sharp  bar  introduced 
through  the  holes  in  the  bosh. 

In  working  anthracite,  if  the  fuel  bed  gets  pasty  and  the  blast 
pressure  high,  say  5  inches  to  7  inches,  it  is  owing  to  the  ash  of  the 
fuel  fusing  at  a  low  temperature.  The  blast  will  then  go  to  the 
walls,  making  the  gas  lean.  In  this  case,  try  the  use  of  a  larger 
proportion  of  steam,  obtained  by  partially  covering  the  top  of  the 
blower  with  a  piece  of  board  or  sheet  iron,  and  turning  on  a  little 
more  steam.  If  this  does  not  prevent  the  pasty  condition,  the  pro¬ 
ducer  must  be  driven  much  slower,  but  coal  that  gets  so  pasty  that 
barring  will  do  no  good,  should  not  be  used,  nor  should  coal  con¬ 
taining  too  much  dust  be  used,  as  this  clogs  the  interstices  too 
much  and  sends  the  blast  to  the  walls,  greatly  to  the  injury  of  the 
gas.  The  producer,  unless  using  our  Automatic  Continuous  Feed, 
will  not  work  well  on  anything  smaller  than  No.  1  buckwheat  on 
this  account.  A  mixture  of  bituminous  with  anthracite  buckwheat 
can  be  used  and  works  well,  but  in  that  case  the  fuel  should  be 
higher,  and  when  using  all  soft  coal  still  higher.  In  charging  soft 
coal  a  second  charge  should  not  be  put  on  before  the  first  has  coked 
and  been  broken  up  with  a  bar.  Holes  in  the  fuel  bed  should  also 
be  kept  closed,  but  beyond  this  very  little  poking  is  needed  except 
after  grinding. 

Always  keep  the  top  of  the  producer  under  a  slight  pressure 

so  that  the  gas  will  come  out  when  the  poker  hole  covers  are  re¬ 
moved  or  the  bell  lowered,  instead  of  air  going  in,  thus  preventing 
any  tendency  to  explosions. 

In  stopping  the  producer,  it  is  important  to  have  good  incandes¬ 
cence  on  top  of  the  fuel  instead  of  fresh  coah  Before  stopping, 
slacken  the  blast  and  then  remove  the  poker-hole  covers  before 
entirely  taking  off  blast.  With  the  lessened  blast,  a  gentle  current 
of  gas  will  issue  from  the  poker  holes,  and,  if  hot  enough,  will 
ignite.  If  it  does  not  do  so,  ignite  it.  Then,  in  entirely  cutting  off 
the  blast,  the  air  will  follow  the  receding  flame  into  the  producer, 
and  the  gas  will  burn  quietly  without  explosive  puff. 

A  good  drain  pipe  or  drip  cock  must  be  arranged  in  bottom  of 
blast  pipe  to  carry  off  the  water  from  the  condensed  steam. 


R.  D.  Wood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


g5 


The  air  pressure  gauge  pipe  should  be  tapped  in  on  top  of  hori¬ 
zontal  air  pipe  near  where  it  enters  the  foundation.  The  pipe 
should  be  J  inch  gas  pipe  about  four  feet  long.  The  gauge  is  an 
ordinary  manometer,  conveniently  made  of  glass  tubing  inch 
inside  diameter,  bent  into  the  form  of  a  U  about  io  inches  high,  and 
half  filled  with  water.  This  is  fastened  on  a  board  and  attached  to 
the  £  inch  pipe  by  a  piece  of  rubber  tubing. 

Sufficient  water  should  be  kept  running  on  the  top  plate  to 
prevent  the  formation  of  much  steam,  and  the  same  directions  apply 
to  the  jacket  water  of  a  water-cooled  producer. 

The  gas  is  of  the  best  quality  when  the  top  of  the  fuel  bed  is 
almost  black  to  a  dull  or  medium  red. — When  very  hot,  the  CO., 
is  always  too  high. 

Use  the  sight  holes  in  the  casing  to  maintain  fire  line  at 
proper  point. 

We  are  prepared  to  send  out  competent  men  to  superintend 
erection,  start  up  the  producers,  and  instruct  those  who  will  have 
immediate  charge  of  operating  them. 

Comparison  of  Producer  and  Illuminating  Gas. — 

First-class  carburetted  water  gas,  made  with  4P2  gallons  of  Lima  oil  per 
1000  feet  of  gas,  C.P.  26^2 ;  contains  730  H.U.  per  cubic  foot. 

One  pound  of  anthracite  coal  (C  85  per  cent.,  HC  5  per  cent.,  Ash  10 
per  cent.)  will  make  about  90  cubic  feet  of  gas  of  following  composition: 

CO  27  per  cent.,  H  12  per  cent.,  CPU  1.2  per  cent.,  CO2  2.5  per  cent., 
N  57  per  cent. 

This  gas  contains  about  137  H.U.  per  cubic  foot. 

Therefore  17  cubic  feet  of  carburetted  water  gas  are  equal  in  heat- 
units  to  gas  from  one  pound  of  anthracite. 

toco  feet  C.W.  gas  equals  gas  from  59  -f-  pounds  anthracite. 


WEIGH  T  PER  CUBIC  FOOT  OF  COAL  AND  COKE. 


Anthracite  coal,  market  sizes,  moderately 

shaken  . 

Anthracite  coal,  market  size,  heaped 

bushel,  loose . 

Bituminous  coal,  broken,  loose . 

Bituminous  coal,  moderately  shaken . 

Bituminous  coal,  heaped  bushel . 

Dry  coke . 

Dry  coke,  heaped  bushel  (average  38)  .  . .  . 


Lbs.  rer 

Cu  Ft. 

Stor  ge  for 
Long  Ton. 

52-56 

40-43  CU.  ft. 

56-60 

77-83 

47-52 

51-56 

43-48  “ 

70-78 

23-32 

35-42 

80-97  “ 

R.  D.  IVood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


97 


Standard  bushel  American  Gas  Light  Association:  18^2"  diam.  and  8" 
deep  =  2150.42  cu.  in.  A  heaped  bushel  is  the  same  plus  a  cone  19^2"  diam. 
and  6"  high,  or  a  total  of  2747.7  cu.  in.  An  ordinary  heaped  bushel  =  1% 
struck  bushel  =  2688  cu.  in.  =  10  gallons  dry  measure. 

Crude  petroleum  =  7.3  lbs.  per  gallon. 


TEMPERATURES, 

Degrees  Fahrenheit  =  |  Degrees  Centigrade  +  32>  or  F.°  =  1.8 
C.°  T  32- 

Degrees  Centigrade  =  f  (Degrees  Fahrenheit  —  32). 

Degrees  Absolute  Temperature,  T.  =  C.°  -|-  273. 

Degrees  Absolute  Temperature,  T.  =  F.°  -f-  459. 

.  ,  „  I  —  2730  on  Centigrade  Scale. 

Absolute  Zero  =  <  ' 

t  —  459  on  Fahrenheit  Scale. 

Mercury  remains  liquid  to  —  390  C.  and  thermometers  with  compressed 
N.  above  the  column  of  mercury  may  be  used  for  as  high  temperatures  as 
400 0  to  500 0  C. 


Temperatures  in  some  industrial  operations: 

Degrf.es. 

Centigrade.  Fahrenheit. 


*Gold — Standard  alloy  pouring  into  molds . 

Annealing  blanks  for  coinage,  furnace  chamber, 

Silver — Standard  alloy,  pouring  into  molds . 

fSteel — Bessemer  Process,  Six-ton  Converter: 

Bath  of  Slag . 

Metal  in  ladle . 

“  ingot  mold  . 

Ingot  in  reheating  furnace  . 

under  hammer  . 


Siemen’s  Open  Hearth  Furnace: 

Producer  gas  near  gas  generator . 

“  “  entering  recuperator  chamber ..  . 

“  “  leaving 

Air  issuing  from  “ 

Products  of  combustion  approaching  chimney, 

End  of  melting  pig  charge . 

Completion  of  conversion . 


Pouring  steel  into 


beginning 
ending  . . . 


In  the  molds 


Siemen’s  Crucible  Furnace: 

Temperature  of  hearth  between  crucibles 


1180 

2156 

890 

1634 

980 

1796 

1580 

2876 

1640 

2984 

1580 

287^ 

1200 

2192 

1080 

1976 

720 

1328 

400 

752 

1200 

2192 

1000 

1832 

300 

590 

1420 

2588 

1500 

2732 

1580 

2876 

1490 

2714 

1520 

2768 

l600 

2912 

*  W.  C.  Roberts- Austen, 
t  Prof.  Le  Chatelier. 


7 


g8 


R.  D.  PVood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia, 


Blast  Furnace  on  gray  Bessemer: 

Opening  in  front  of  tuyere . 

j  beginning  to  tap 


Molten  metal 


end  of  tap. 


Degrees. 

Centigrade.  Fahrenheit. 

.  1930  3506 

.  1400  2552 

.  1570  2858 


Siemen’s  Glass  Melting  Furnace: 


Temperature  of  furnace .  1400  2552 

Melted  glass  .  1310  2390 

Annealing  bottles  .  585  1085 


Furnace  for  hard  porcelain,  end  of  “baking”..  1370  2498 

Hoffman  red  brick  kiln,  burning  temperature.  .  1100  2012 


MELTING  POINTS. 


c.° 

F.° 

C.° 

F.° 

Sulphur  . 

....  115 

239 

Copper  . 

1054 

1929 

Tin  . 

...  230 

446 

Cast  iron,  white.. 

1135 

2075 

Lead  . 

...  326 

6l8 

gray  . .  . 

1220 

2228 

Zinc . 

...  415 

779 

Steel,  hard . 

1410 

2570 

Aluminum  .  . . 

ii57 

“  mild . 

1475 

2687 

Silver . 

.  •  •  945 

1733 

Palladium  . 

1500 

2732 

Gold . 

...  1045 

1913 

Platinum  . 

1775 

3227 

HEAT  UNITS. 

(See  pp.  57  and  58.) 

A  French  Calorie  =  1  Kilogram  of  H20  heated  i°  C.  at  or  near  40  C. 

A  B'ritish  Thermal  Unit  (B.  T.  U.)  =  1  lb.  of  Hi>0  heated  i°  F.  at  or 
near  390  F. 

A  Pound-Calorie  Unit  =  1  lb.  of  H20  heated  i°  C.  at  or  near  40  C. 

1  French  Calorie  =  3.968  B.  T.  U.  =  2.2046  Pound  Calories. 

1  British  Thermal  Unit  =  .252  French  Calories  =  .555  Pound  Calories. 
1  Pound  Calorie  =  1.8  B.  T.  U.  =  .45  French  Calories. 

1  B.  T.  U.  =  778  ft.  lbs.  =  Joule’s  mechanical  equivalent  of  heat. 

1  H,  P.  =  33,000  ft.  lbs.  per  minute. 

_  miulq  _  42.42  B.  T.  Us.  per  minute. 

=  42.42  X  60  =  2545  B.  T.  Us.  per  hour. 

The  British  Board  of  Trade  unit  is  not  a  unit  of  heat,  but  of 
electrical  measurement  and 


=  1  kilowatt  hour. 

=  1000  watts  =  —  i-34  H.  P.  per  hour. 

CHEMICAL  NOMENCLATURE. 

The  following-  gives  the  characters  used  by  chemists  to  briefly 
designate  various  substances : 

CO2  [44]!  =  Carbon  Dioxide,  “Carbonic  Acid,”  Choke  or  Black  Damp. 
CH4  [  16]  f  =  Methane,  Marsh  Gas,  Pit  Gas  or  Fire  Damp. 

H  [1]*  =  Hydrogen.  O  [16]*  =  Oxygen. 

N  [  14]  *  =  Nitrogen.  HzO  [  18]  f  =  Water. 

CO  [28]  f  =  Carbon  Monoxide.  C2H6  [30]  f  =  Ethane. 

C2H»  [28] f  =  Ethylene  or  Olefiant  Gas.  C2H2  [26]  f  =  Acetylene. 


*  Atomic  weight.  f  Molecular  weight. 


R.  D.  Wood  £r  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


99 


CHEMICAL  EQUATIONS  FOR  COMBUSTION  IN  OXYGEN. 

HYDROGEN,  H. 

2H2  -f-  O2  2H2O. 

Relation  by  volume  —  (2  vols.)  +  (1  vol. )  =  (2  vols.  )• 

“  “  weight —  1  -f-  8  =  9 

CARBON  MONOXIDE,  CO. 

2CO  +  02  =  2CO2. 

Relation  by  volume  —  (2  vols.)  -f-  ( 1  vol.)  =  2  vols. 

“  weight —  7  +  4  =  11 

OLEFIANT  GAS,  C2H4. 

C2H4  -f-  3O2  =  2CO2  -(-  2H2O. 

Relation  by  volume  —  (1  vol. )  +  (3  vols.)  =  (2  vols.)  +  (2  vols.) . 

“  weight —  7  -f  24  =  22  +  9 

MARSH  GAS,  CH4. 

CH4  +  2O2  =  CO2  +  2H20. 

Relation  by  volume  —  (1  vol.)  -{-  (2  vols.)  =  (1  vol.)  +  (2  vols.). 
“  weight  —  4  -f-  16  =  11+  9 


1  cu.  ft.  of  Hydrogen  at  320  F.  and  14.7  lb.  per  □"  =.00599  lb-  To  find 
the  weight  of  any  other  gas  per  cubic  foot,  multiply  half  its  molecular 
weight  by  .00599. 

CALORIFIC  POWERS  OF  FUELS  CALCULATED  FROM  ULTIMATE 

ANALYSIS. 

Dulong’s  formula : 

Heating  value  in  B.  T.  Us.  =  r^o  [14*600  C  +  62,000  (H  —  §)  -f-  4050  S]. 

o  * 

Heating  value  in  Calories  =  t<jo  [8140  C  +  34,400  (H  — ^*)  -}-  2250  S]. 
Mahler’s  formula : 

Heating  value,  Calories  =t£o  [8140  C  +  34,500  H  —  3000  (O  -f-  N)]. 

In  the  above  C  =  Carbon,  H  =  Hydrogen,  O  =  Oxygen,  N  =  Nitrogen, 
S  =  Sulphur. 

Heats  of  Combustion  of  Various  Substances  in  Oxygen. 


(Favre  &  Silberman.) 


One  Part  by  Weight  of 

Burning  to 

Evolves. 

Kilo-Calories. 

B.  T.  U. 

Hydrogen . 

H20  at  o°  C. 

34462 

62032 

Hydrogen . 

H20  at  ioo°  C. 

28732 

517*7 

Carbon  (wood charcoal) 

co2 

8080 

14544 

Carbon . 

CO 

2473 

4451 

Carbon  Monoxide . 

C02 

2403 

4325 

Marsh  Gas . 

C02  and  H20 

13063 

23513 

Olefiant  Gas . 

C02  and  H20 

11858 

21344 

IOO 


R.  D.  Wood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia 


Heats  of  Combustion  of  Gases  in  Oxygen. 


(By  Julius  Thompsen.) 


Heat  Units 
Evolved. 

U 

<L> 

O-U 
to  2 

B.  T.  Us.  per 

Cubic  Foot. 

Name. 

Symbol. 

Products  of 
Combustion  at 
180  C.  (64.4°  F.), 
Water  Liquid. 

Calories  per 

Kilogram 

of  Gas. 

B.  T.  Us. 

per  Pound 

of  Gas. 

.U  V 

73.0 

U.O 

W 

Acetylene  . . 

c2h2 

2C02-f  H20 

11,917 

21,421 

13,881 

L554 

Benzine  .  ... 

6C02  +  2  H20 

IO,  102 

2,436 

18,183 

35,300 

3*954 

Carbonic  Oxide... 

CO 

C02 

4,385 

3,055 

342 

Ethane . 

c2h6 

2  C02  +  3  H20 

12,420 

22,356 

16,692 

1,870 

f  Ethylene  . 

t  ( Olefiant  Gas) 

c2h4 

2  C02  +  2  Ii20 

H,93I 

21,476 

14,967 

1,677 

Hydrogen . 

h2 

h2o 

34,180 

61,524 

3,062 

344 

|  Methane . 

1  (Marsh  Gas) 

ch4 

C02  -(-  2  h2o 

13,320 

23,976 

9,548 

1,070 

Weight  and  Volume  of  Gases  and  Air  Required  in  Combustion. 


Name. 

Weight  per  Cubic 
Foot  in  Pounds  at 
320  F.  and  14.7  Pounds 
per  Square  Inch. 

Volume  in 
Cubic  Feet  of 

1  Pound  of  Gas 
at  14.7  Pounds 
per  Square 
Inch. 

Cubic  Feet 
Required 
to  Burn  ' 
1  Cubic  Foot 
ol  Gas. 

Pounds  Re¬ 
quired  to 
Burn 

1  Pound  of 
the  Gas. 

Cubic 

Feet 

Formed 

of 

320  F. 

62°  F. 

Oxygen. 

U 

< 

Oxygen. 

Air. 

Steam. 

Cs 

O 

u 

Air  . 

O 

cc 

O 

j-i 

12.39 

13. 12 

Carbon  Dioxide 

.12300 

8. 12 

8.60 

Carbon  Monoxide . 

.07830 

12.77 

13-55 

•5 

2-39 

•57 

2-4B 

O 

I 

Hydrogen .  ... 

.00599 

178.80 

189.80 

•5 

2-39 

8.00 

34-8 

I 

0 

Marsh  Gas  . 

.04470 

22.37 

23-73 

2.0 

9.60 

4.00 

17.4 

2 

I 

Nitrogen . . 

.07830 

I2-77 

13-55 

•  *  * 

Olefiant  Gas . 

.07830 

12.77 

13-55 

3-o 

14.4 

3-43 

14.9 

2 

2 

Oxygen  . 

.08940 

1 1.20 

11.88 

•  • 

Air  =  20.92  per  cent,  of  Oxygen. 


i  lb.  Carbon  burning  to  CO2  requires  11.6  lbs.  of  air. 

1  “  “  “  “  CO  “  5.8  “  “  “ 

Liquid  Hydrocarbons  approximate  20,000  B.  T.  U.  per  lb. 

Good  coal  approximates  14,000  B.  T.  U.  per  lb. 

2 y2  lbs.  of  dry  wood  =  1  lb.  of  coal  or  .4  lb.  coal  =  1  lb.  wood. 


SPECIFIC  HEATS  OF  SUBSTANCES 


Glass  . . 1937 

Cast  iron . 1298 

Wrought  iron...  .1138 
Steel,  soft . 1165 


SOLIDS  AND  LIQUIDS. 

Coal . 20  to  .24 

Coke  . 203 

Brickwork  ) 

Masonry  / . 

Wood . 46  to  .65 


Copper . 0951 

Charcoal . 2410 

Mercury . 0333 

Water  .  1.0000 


IOI 


R.  D.  Wood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


AT  CONSTANT  PRESSURE. 

GASES. 

Air . 

Oxygen  . 

Hydrogen  . 

Nitrogen  . 

Carbon  Dioxide,  C02 . 

Carbon  Monoxide,  CO . 

Olefiant  Gas  (ethylene)  C2Hj . 

Marsh  Gas  (methane),  CH4 . 

Blast  Furnace  Gas . 

Chimney  Gases  from  Boilers . 

Steam,  superheated  . 

“  VOLUMETRIC  99  SPECIFIC  HEATS. 

Air,  Oxygen,  Carbon  Monoxide,  Hydrogen  and  Nitrogen  =  .019. 

Carbon  Dioxide  and  Marsh  Gas  =  .027. 

Producer  Gas  =  .019. 

Volumetric  specific  heat  is  the  quantity  of  heat  required  to  raise  the 
temperature  of  1  cubic  foot  1  degree  from  320  to  330  F. 

SPECIFIC  GRAVITIES. 

(Approximate.) 

Coal  Gas,  .400.  Water  Gas,  .570.  Producer  Gas,  .970.  Air  =  1.00. 


•2375 

.2175 

3.4090 

.2438 

.2170 

.2479 

.4040 

.5929 

.2280 

.2400 

.4805 


FORMULA  FOR  CALCULATING  DIAMETERS  OF  PIPE. 

Q  =  Discharge  per  hour;  S  =  specific  gravity  of  gas;  h  =  pressure  in 
inches  of  water;  1  =  length  of  pipe  in  yds.  D  =  Diameter  of  pipe.  Then 


Q2  SI 
035°  )V 


Ample  margin  should  be  allowed  in  calculations  based  upon  this 
formula. 

As  far  as  the  effect  of  heat  is  concerned,  the  volume  of  a  gas  varies  as 
its  absolute  temperature.  Its  absolute  temperature  is  the  ordinary  tem¬ 
perature  -f-  2 730  on  the  Centigrade  or--f-  460°  on  the  Fahrenheit  scale. 
Each  degree  rise  Centigrade  increases  the  volume  of  its  volume  at 
o°C.,  or  °f  its  volume  at  320  F.,  approximately. 


HEATING  VALUE  OF  SOME  FUELS. 


Peat,  Irish,  perfectly  dried,  ash  4  per  cent .  10,200  B.  T.  U. 

Peat,  air-dried,  25  per  cent,  moisture,  ash  4  per  cent .  7, 400 

Wood,  perfectly  dry,  ash  2  per  cent .  7,800 

Wood,  25  per  cent,  moisture  .  5,8oq  “ 

Tan  bark,  perfectly  dry,  15  per  cent,  ash .  6,100 

Tan  bark,  30  per  cent,  moisture  .  4, 300 

Straw,  10  per  cent,  moisture,  ash  4  per  cent .  5.450 

Straw,  dry,  ash  4  per  cent .  6,300 

Lignites .  11,200  “ 


The  above  are  approximate  figures,  for  on  such  materials  qualities  are 
very  variable. 


102 


R .  D.  IVood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


■WEIGHT  PER  CORD  AND  COAL  VALUE  OF  THOROUGHLY 

AIR-DRIED  WOODS. 


S.  P.  Sharpless. 

Hickory  or  hard  maple  .  4,500  lbs. 

White  oak  . 3,85°  “ 

Beech,  red  and  black  oak .  3,25° 

Poplar,  chestnut  and  elm  .  2,350  “ 

Average  pine .  2,000  “ 

NATURAL  GAS  AND  COAL. 


1,800  lbs.  coaL 

1,54° 

1,300 
940 
800 


a 

u 

(< 

u 


Equivalent  values  for  natural  gas  and  coal  vary  considerably,  no  doubt 
from  variations  in  quality  of  gas  and  coal  and  differences  in  practice.  Ap^ 
proximately — • 

35,000  cubic  feet  of  natural  gas  =  in  heating  value  1  ton  of  coal. 

FUEL  OILS. 


American  crude  petroleum  carries  more  of  the  lighter  oils  than  the 
European  or  Peruvian.  These  latter  leave  when  distilled  a  residuum  or 
“fuel  oil”  consisting  largely  of  the  heavy  oils.  Steam  atomizers  give  better 
results  with  them  than  the  air  spray.  In  some  Russian  tests  the  steam  re¬ 
quired  to  atomize  was  4  per  cent,  of  the  water  evaporated. 

“Astatki,”  “Mazoot,”  petroleum  refuse,  reduced  oil,  etc.,  are  terms  used 
to  designate  fuel  oil. 

Approximately  1  lb.  oil  =  1.45  lbs.  coal. 

Test  at  Minneapolis  Water  Works  showed  that  for  same  duty  224  gallons 
of  oil  weighing  6.875  lbs.  per  gal.  =  1  ton  (2,240)  Youghiogheny  coal. 
Urquhart  gives  value  of  oil  and  coal  in  weight  as  10  :  7  =  1.43. 


R.  D.  Wood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia 


103 


Applications  of  Producer  Gas  to 
Metallurgical  Operations : 

OPEN  HEARTH  AND  CRUCIBLE  FURNACES, 

SOAKING  PITS  AND  REHEATING  FURNACES, 

PLATE  BENDING  AND  ANNEALING  FURNACES, 

RETORT  ZINC  FURNACES  AND  THE  ROASTING 
PROCESSES  OF  ORE  TREATMENT. 

Manufacture  of  Chemicals : 

OXIDIZING  AND  REDUCING  FURNACES, 
PHOSPHORUS,  SODA  AND  SULPHATE  FURNACES, 
ACID  CONCENTRATION,  WOOD  DISTILLATION, 
PIGMENT  FURNACES. 

Manufactures  in  Glass : 

TANK  AND  CRUCIBLE  FURNACES, 

SHEET,  GLASS  AND  BOTTLE  WORK. 


Manufactures  in  Earthenware : 

KILNS  AND  MUFFLE  FURNACES  FOR  PORCELAI 
AND  CROCKERY  WARE, 

ORNAMENTAL  AND  ROOFING  TILES, 

BRICKS  AND  REFRACTORY  MATERIALS  AND 
CEMENT,  LIME  AND  ENAMELING  KILNS. 


104 


R.  D.  IVood  Sr  Co.,  Philadelphia, 


A  SHIPMENT  OF  48"  PIPE  LEAVING  WORKS. 


CAST  IRON  PIPE 
and 
SPECIAL 

CASTINGS. 


6o"x  6o"x  60"  Y.  Weight  57,000  Lbs. 


R.  D .  Wood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


105 


Constructors  of 

GAS  AND  WATER  WORKS. 


Manufacturers  of  all  kinds  and  sizes  of 

Cast  Iron  Pipe 


FOR  WATER  AND  GAS  MAINS,  SEWERAGE, 

CULVERTS,  etc. 

A  full  line  of  all  Regular  sizes  usually  in  stock. 
PRICES  ON  APPLICATION. 


Inquiries  should  state  size,  kind,  ap¬ 
proximate  quantity  and  weight  of  pipes — 
or  pressure  under  which  they  will  be  used  ; 
and,  if  possible,  the  intended  service, 
delivery  desired,  etc. 


FLEXIBLE  JOINT  PIPE. 


STANDARD  FLANGE  PIPE. 

SPECIAL  CASTINGS. 

Send  for  Circular. 


Chemical  and  Sugar-House  Work. 


HEAVY  SPECIAL  MACHINERY 

TO  PURCHASERS'  DRAWINGS. 


GENERAL  CASTINGS. 


io6 


R.  D.  Wood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


Designing  and  Constructing  Engineers  of 

GAS  WORKS  APPLIANCES 


SINGLE  OR  MULTIPLE  LIFT  GAS  HOLDERS 

WITH  OR  WITHOUT  STEEL  TANKS. 


MITCHELL  SCRUBBER. 

Matton  &  Mitchell  Self-Sealing  Mouth-Pieces,  Purifiers,  Condensers,  Scrubbers, 
Bench  Work,  Center  Seals,  Gas  Valves,  Lamp  Posts,  etc. 


R.  D.  Wood  Sr  Co.,  Philadelphia 


107 


Manufacturers  of  the 


MITCHELL  SCRUBBER. 


MITCHELL  CENTER  SEAL 


io8 


R.  D.  PVood  &  Lo.,  Philadelphia. 


Hydraulic  Valves* 


Every  Valve  has  Clear  Passage 


throughout  equal  to  the  area  indicated  by 
its  size.  The  yz"  and  y"  sizes  are  in 
Solid  Bronze  Shells  and  have  screw-pipe 
connections.  The  and  larger  are  in 
Cast  Iron  Shells,  Bronze-lined,  with  flange 
connections.  Price  includes  companion 
flanges. 


For  Hard  and  Continuous 

service  under  any  pressure. 
Specially  adapted  to  STEEL 
WORKS  PULPITS. 


LARGE  VALVE  WITH  PILOT  VALVE  AND  FLOATING  LEVER. 


3- Way  or  4- Way 

each  have  only  one  spindle,  giving  the  4-Way  valve  but  one-half  the  cup 
packings  required  in  other  modern  valves. 


Perfectly  Balanced  and  the  Easiest  Working 

valve  yet  introduced.  The  arrangement  of  leather  cups  gives  the  utmost 
durability  ;  will  usually  have  six  times  the  life  of  cups  in  Critchlow  or 
other  similar  types.  A  worn  cup  is  easily  renewed  in  five  minutes. 


Built  with  the  Greatest  Care 

under  rigid  inspection,  and  only  the  finest  grade  of  material  used  throughout. 


R.  D.  PVood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


109 


Builders  of 


Hydraulic 

Fixed  and  Portable  Riveters, 

Punches  and  Shears, 


ESPECIALLY  DESIGNED 


For  Service  in  the  shops  of  Boiler  Makers, 
Bridge  and  Ship  Builders* 


Portable  Hydraulic  Riveter 
and  Hydraulic  Lift. 


HYDRAULIC  I-BEAM  AND  SLAB  SHEARS, 
and  HYDRAULIC  PLATE  SHEARS. 


HYDRAULIC  FORGING 
AND  BENDING  MACHINERY. 


HEAVY  SPECIAL 
HYDRAULIC  MACHINERY 
PRESSES, 

CUPOLA  and  MILL  HOISTS. 


HYDRAULIC  CRANES, 
ACCUMULATORS 
and 

INTENSIFIERS. 


Patent  Hydraulic  Lifting  Riveter, 
for  Girder  Work,  etc. 


no 


R.  D.  Wood  £r  Co.,  Philadelphia 


TRIPLE  EXPANSION  PRESSURE  PUMPING  ENGINES  FOR  ANY  SERVICE. 


R.  D:  Wood  Sr  Co.,  Philadelphia. 


hi 


Manufacturers  of 

“Gate”  Valves, 

HUB,  SCREW 
and  FLANGE, 

for  Water,  Gas  and  Steam, 
and  all  purposes* 

Send  for  circular. 


Indicator  Valve  Post* 

(patented.) 

Designed  especially  for  use  with  Water  Valves  connected  with 
Fire  Service,  in  Mill  and  Factory  Yards,  etc. 

R.  D.  WOOD  &  CO.,  PHILADELPHIA, 

SOLE  MAKERS. 

This  Post  shows  plainly,  to  every  passer-by,  whether  valve  is 
open  or  shut.  It  avoids  the  delay  of  hunting  for  a  flush 
gate-box  hidden  under  snow  or  dirt,  or  the  delay  of 
opening  a  frozen  gate-box  cover. 


Mathews’  Patent 

Fire  Hydrants. 

Single  or  Double  Valve, 

with  or  without  the 

Patent  Independent  Cut-off. 


Send  for  descriptive  circular  of  Mathews’ 
Hydrants. 


1 12 


R.  D.  Wood  &  Co Philadelphia. 


Builders  of 

Geyelin-Jonval  Turbines 

FOR 


Power  Plants, 

Electric  Light  Plants, 
Pumping 
etc. 


LARGE  PLANTS 

A  SPECIALTY 


Water  Power  Pumps 
and  Turbines 

Pumping  Stations. 

Turbines  at  Niagara. 


Stations, 


CORRESPONDENCE  SOLICITED. 


